On the back of an eight-match winning streak, Juventus have somehow found their way back to title contention, albeit as outsiders, setting the stage for a major Scudetto showdown on Friday against runaway leaders Napoli on their own turf at the San Paolo Stadium.

Following last week’s defeat at Giuseppe Meazza, the Partenopei lost their invincibility aura, but they swiftly bounced back with a comfortable victory over Sampdoria in the weekend, preserving a seven-point gap between them and the Bianconeri.

Therefore, Juve cannot afford a defeat at the Maradona Stadium if they intend to maintain pace with the leaders, so Max Allegri must find the right recipe to tame the southerners.

While Luciano Spalletti possesses a squad filled with formidable talent, three players have stood above the rest during the course of the season, and it would be mandatory for the Bianconeri to limit their danger.

So let’s take a closer look at Napoli’s three most dangerous players, and the possible means to nullify their threat on Friday.

Stanislav Lobotka

Almost out of the blue, Stanislav Lobotka has suddenly announced himself as one of the best deep-lying playmakers in Serie A, which is a remarkable achievement considering his initial struggles in southern Italy.

The Slovakian is excellent when it comes to maintaining possession and can easily draw his opponents off position, creating space in the process, only to switch the play towards the wings and allow his teammates to launch scathing attacks.

Therefore, Juventus must not fall into his traps by having midfielders breaking the line while chasing the 28-year-old deep into Napoli’s areas. Instead, it might be wiser to have the two strikers (or possibly Angel Di Maria if he acts as an attacking midfielder) to man-mark Lobotka and try to prevent him from receiving the ball in the first place, while keeping our midfield line in place.

Kvicha Kvaratskhelia

Luckily for the Old Lady, we’re yet to see the best version from the Georgian sensation following his return to injury. But as the cliché goes: class is permanent.

The 21-year-old is simply a cheat code of a left winger, with a devastating pace and an effortless ability to dribble past opponents before either picking up a teammate or going for goal himself.

At the moment, Juventus are adopting a 3-5-2 formation, which should come handy on this occasion. While Danilo will definitely have his hands full of the young man, he should be able to rely on the right wingback to assist him in his daunting mission.

Therefore, Weston McKennie might be the best candidate for the unpleasant job, while Federico Chiesa could storm the pitch as a super-sub in the second half once Kvara’s energy levels begin to drop.

Victor Osimhen

In Victor Osimhen, Napoli arguably possess the most explosive striker in Italian football. The Nigerian runs at defenses with unparalleled ferocity. Moreover, he possesses an extraordinary ability to reach the ball ahead of his marker.

Obviously, an epic battle with Gleison Bremer will ensue, but Juventus can’t assign the Brazilian with the task of nullifying the Nigerian on his own, as the latter will eventually manage to skip past his marker on one or two occasions.

Instead, Allegri needs to install a system which deprives the striker from the spaces and prevents him from storming into the box at will. Isolating him from the rest of this teammates would be the ideal scenario for Juventus.

In this regard, Manuel Locatelli will have a major role to play, as he and the rest of the midfield pack will have to drop deep at times and tighten the defensive lines, denying Osimhen from operating in the hole, which is where he normally lurks before making sudden runs towards the 18-yard box.