'Juventus rarely die' – Napoli boss Allegri uneasy ahead of Turin return

Wait 5 sec.

Massimiliano Allegri has warned his Napoli players that Juventus "rarely die", as he anticipates a tough test from the "wounded" Bianconeri on Halloween weekend.Napoli and Juve will go head-to-head at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Sunday, with both coaches attracting criticism amid underwhelming starts in Serie A.They sit seventh and eighth in the table, respectively, going into matchday 10, with 14 points apiece – co-leaders Inter and Lazio accumulated 25 each in the first nine matchdays.While Napoli are at least coming off a win, having beaten Monza 4-1 on Wednesday, a midweek defeat against Genoa was Juventus' third loss in Serie A this season (W4 D2). Only once in the last 35 years have the Bianconeri recorded four defeats in their first 10 league games of a Serie A campaign – in 2015-16, when they recovered to win the Scudetto under Allegri. And ahead of a return to his former home stadium, Allegri insisted it would not be long before the Bianconeri come back to life. "I've heard in the media that they're giving Juve up for dead, but Juventus rarely die," Allegri said, as quoted by TuttoMercatoWeb. "They're a strong team with a good coach, and in moments like these, they pull together, so it will be very hard for us. We'll need a great technical and physical performance, and some good luck."It won't be easy, because tomorrow is a head-to-head game against a team built to fight for the top four. "They're like us, they have the same points, but we'll face a wounded, angry team. We'll need fighting spirit and technique. We won't find the team that’s being described [in the media]."Juve boss Luciano Spalletti ordered his squad into an old-fashioned training retreat ahead of this weekend's game. But following their loss to Genoa, midfielder Weston McKennie said he and his team-mates must take responsibility. "We must do more. Run, fight, and make more sacrifices for our team-mates," McKennie told Sky Sport Italia."In the end, you can say all you want about tactics, but there are 11 players on the field, and the battle is on the field."PLAYERS TO WATCH Juventus – Randal Kolo Muani Giovanni Simeone (395), Franco Mastantuono (383) and El Bilal Toure (381) are the only forwards to play more minutes at home without scoring than Juve's Kolo Muani (359) in Serie A this season. Additionally, Kolo Muani has scored with just one of his last 21 shots at home in the Italian top flight (including his previous stint on loan in Italy).Napoli – Rasmus Hojlund Juve were the opponents when Hojlund managed his first Serie A game with multiple goals on December 7 last year. The Dane has 24 goals in the competition for Atalanta and Napoli, and since his debut in 2022-23, only Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (28) and Matias Soule (26) have netted more before turning 24 years old.MATCH PREDICTION – JUVENTUS WIN This match will see two former Scudetto-winning coaches go up against their old clubs, and it is Spalletti – who led Napoli to the title in 2022-23 – who is favoured to come out on top.Only Giovanni Trapattoni (402) has overseen more Serie A games in charge of Juventus than Allegri (302). The current Napoli boss has only won one of his last seven league matches against the Bianconeri (D3 L3), though, with the two most recent encounters ending goalless.Juventus have averaged just 1.3 points per home game in Serie A since the start of May, managing two wins, two draws and two defeats in that period – one of which was their last home match against Lazio (0-3). The last time the Bianconeri lost two consecutive home league games was in March 2011, under Luigi Delneri, and given Napoli have also been inconsistent, they will fancy their chances of returning to winning ways.Napoli have not repeated the same result in any of their last seven Serie A games, alternating between three wins, two draws and two defeats.OPTA WIN PROBABILITYJuventus – 43.8%Napoli – 29.4%Draw – 26.8%