Napoli are set to take on Juventus in the Coppa Italia Final, at the Stadio Oylimpico on Wednesday 17th.
Both teams played out draws in their second semi-final legs. Juventus who went through courtesy of away goals as they drew 1-1 in the first leg and 0-0 at the Allianz Arena on Friday.
Whilst Napoli came from a goal behind to claim a 1-1 draw, taking the aggregate victory over Antonio Contes’ man after claiming a slim 1-0 victory in the 1st leg.
Both teams looked nervy in recent fixtures as they were played out over the weekend with both teams failing to create any real chances in front of goal.
Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus are still fighting across the face of three competitions: Serie A, Champions League and the Coppa Italia and will hope to claim the first bit of available silverware in Italy. This would be Sarri’s second major career trophy following his Europa League win with Chelsea last season.
Furthermore, the Old Lady’s will be looking to add a 14th Coppa Italia into their ranks, they have already lifted the competition trophy more than any other Italian side. With, Veteran Gianluigi Buffon also will look to equal Roberto Mancini’s record of 6 Coppa Italia’s.
Juventus’s defence will have their problems especially coping with the pace of Napoli forward Dries Mertens, who made history in their clash against Inter Milan as he became the clubs top goals scorer after he netted his 122nd club goal, a record that was previously held by Captain Marek Hamsik.
On the other hand, Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo, will look to hopefully bounce back from his performance the other night as the Portuguese hit the post from the penalty spot.
Napoli, who haven’t won the competition since 2014 will be without their number one, David Ospina, as he picked up a yellow card in the semi-final whilst Kostas Manolas who didn’t feature is still a doubt for the final in Rome.
Juventus who have a fully fit squad to unleash on Gennaro Gattuso’s Napoli will hope that key players such as Paulo Dybala and Rodrigo Bentancur keep the same intensity they demonstrated within the semi-final.
With both teams still to find their rhythm following the return of football, I can see Juventus just having the fire power to push over the line with a slim 1-0 victory, to give Sarri his first major trophy in Italy.
