Juventus vs Napoli
For just the second time in history, fierce rivals Napoli and Juventus are set to clash in the Coppa Italia final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Both clubs drew their semi-final second legs against the two Milan sides to book their tickets to the final.
Juve boss Maurizio Sarri will get to face off against his old team, with whom he failed to win any titles during his three-year stint. And now, his Juve side stands in the way of Napoli winning their first piece of silverware since 2014.
The Coppa Italia 2020 odds are in Sarri’s favour, but Napoli have looked like a new side under Gennaro Gattuso and will be eager to repeat their famous 2012 triumph over the Old Lady.
Talking Points
Napoli revival under Gattuso
Napoli are back in the Coppa Italia final for the first time since 2014 after knocking out Inter Milan in the semi-finals. After beating Inter 1-0 at the San Siro, they held on for a 1-1 draw at San Paolo to go through 2-1 on aggregate.
Inter had gotten off to a great start in the second leg as Christian Eriksen put them in front after just two minutes. But Dries Mertens equalised on 41 minutes with the goal that made him Napoli’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing former team-mate Marek Hamsik.
Gennaro Gattuso has improved Napoli’s form significantly since taking over from Carlo Ancelotti in December. After a rocky start which saw him lose four of his first six games in charge, Rino led Napoli to seven wins in their last nine matches in all competitions before the break in play.
One of the key results that sparked that impressive run was Napoli’s 2-1 win over Juventus at the San Paolo in January.
Gattuso has primarily used a 4-3-3 formation to provide more defensive solidity, which has proven effective.
Meanwhile, Napoli still possess some impressive attacking talent led by Mertens, captain Lorenzo Insigne, Arkadiusz Milik, Jose Callejon, Hirving Lozano, and Fabian Ruiz, who are capable of creating some Coppa Italia 2020 highlights in the final.
Rusty Juventus just about beat Milan
Juventus have reached their fifth Coppa Italia final in six years after edging past AC Milan in the semi-finals.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a stoppage-time penalty in the first leg to give Juve the slight advantage, missed from the spot on 15 minutes. But mere seconds later, Milan’s Ante Rebic got a red card for a horrendous challenge on Juve defender Danilo.
That man advantage allowed Juve to dominate the rest of the match. The Italian champions controlled 64 per cent of possession and had 26 shots to Milan’s six (7-0 on target).
Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala, who recently admitted he was still working his way to full fitness after his bout with COVID-19, combined for 15 shots. Neither ended up scoring, but a 0-0 draw was still enough for Juve to go through on away goals.
Ronaldo and co. are understandably a little rusty after such a long layoff. But even when they struggle, they still seem to find a way to get the job done. They remain an elite defensive team that’s capable of grinding out results.
History
Juventus have made the Coppa Italia final 19 times, winning 13 — both records. They made the final for four straight years from 2015-2018; they won all four times and conceded just one goal.
Meanwhile, Napoli have made 10 Coppa Italia finals in their history, winning five of them. Their last win came in 2014, when they beat Fiorentina 3-1. Lorenzo Insigne scored twice within the first 20 minutes, while Mertens added the clinching goal in stoppage time.
The only time Napoli and Juventus have met in the final was in 2012. Napoli won 2-0 thanks to second-half goals from Edinson Cavani and Marek Hamsik.
But in terms of recent head-to-heads in Serie A, Juventus have a significant edge. Before their loss to Napoli this year, Juve had won six of their last eight meetings (one draw, one loss).
Betting Tip
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Juventus vs Napoli | 1X2 Draw @ 3.25 |
| June 18, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
Unsurprisingly, SBOBET odds have Juventus priced at 2.07 to win the Coppa Italia for the 14th time inside 90 minutes. They are much heavier 1.52 favourites to win the cup, either in full-time, extra time, or a shootout.
Meanwhile, Napoli are 3.45 to win the title outright and 2.66 to win either within or after 90 minutes. A draw is 3.25.
As their second leg performances showed, both Napoli and Juve are still working their way to full fitness after their long break. So don’t expect this final to be full of top-quality football. Instead, I anticipate this to be a tight and hard-fought final that will likely go into extra-time and possibly even penalties.
| A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR () BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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