Serie A Matchday 31: Heavyweights go head-to-head as Juve host Napoli

Juventus go into this weekend’s clash with leaders Napoli off the back of a dramatic week in which their 15-point deduction was reversed.

Elsewhere, resurgent Roma will hope to continue their recent hot streak against Atalanta, who are striving to climb into the European places.

Champions League semi-finalists AC Milan and Inter Milan are also both in action, against Lecce and Empoli, respectively.

Second-placed Lazio, meanwhile, will be aiming to maintain their position when Torino visit the capital.

Game of the weekend: Juventus vs Napoli (Sunday, 7.45pm)

The reversal of Juventus' points deduction means they are back in third place, despite having lost each of their last two league games.

The Bianconeri reached the Europa League semi-finals after a 1-1 draw with Sporting in midweek, while Napoli will be smarting after being knocked out of the Champions League by Milan.

Both sides boast exceptional defensive records, with Juventus keeping 17 Serie A clean sheets, closely followed by Napoli, with 15. Only Barcelona (22) and Lazio (18) have more in Europe's top five leagues. 

These two teams are also deadly from set-pieces. Napoli have netted a league-high 22 goals from such situations, just ahead of Juve, who have recorded 19.

Atalanta vs Roma (Monday, 7.45pm)

Roma will be flying high after their dramatic 4-1 extra-time victory over Feyenoord saw them book their place in the last four of the Europa League. 

The Giallorossi's Serie A form has been superb ahead of this clash with Atalanta, winning each of their last three outings without conceding — only Barcelona (11) have registered more than their nine clean sheets in 2023 across Europe's top five leagues.

Roma and Atalanta appear to favour similar routes to goal, each netting a joint-league-high eight strikes from outside the box. They also rank first and second, respectively, for goals scored from the penalty spot (nine for Roma, eight for Atalanta). 

Tammy Abraham can build on his goal last weekend against La Dea, who he has scored three times in his three meetings with. He boasts a better minutes-per-goal ratio against them (one every 84 minutes) than any other opponent in the competition.

AC Milan vs Lecce (Sunday, 5pm)

Milan should be in a buoyant mood after reaching the Champions League semi-finals but they must not neglect their pursuit of qualification for next year's competition through a top-four finish.

Juve's return to third has pushed the Rossoneri down to fifth ahead of Matchday 31, three points adrift of fourth-placed Roma. Failure to finish in the top four would leave Stefano Pioli's men needing to win the Champions League in order to make the 2023-24 edition.

Struggling Lecce have beaten the Rossoneri only twice in their last 33 Serie A clashes (12 draws, 19 defeats) and are in poor form, with their 1-1 draw against bottom side Sampdoria last time out ending a run of six straight defeats. 

Additionally, the visitors have kept just three league clean sheets this term — a league low — though, curiously, they are the only team who have not conceded more than twice in a single fixture all season.

Empoli vs Inter Milan (Sunday, 11.30am)

Inter Milan, like their local rivals, also reached the last four of Europe's premier club competition — a welcome reprieve from their dire league form, having failed to win any of their previous five Serie A outings (one draw, four defeats). 

However, the Nerazzurri have won 22 of their 29 league encounters with upcoming opponents Empoli (three draws, four defeats). 

Additionally, Inter have not conceded in any of the last eight meetings at the Carlo Castellani Stadium, winning the last four there. 

This clash sees Serie A's oldest team — the average age of Inter's starting line-up this season is 29 years and 55 days old — take on its second-youngest in Lecce (25 years, 222 days).

Lazio vs Torino (Saturday, 5pm)

Second-placed Lazio are enjoying a superb season and will be hoping to extend their Serie A winning streak to five consecutive games when they host Torino on Saturday. 

The Granata are winless in their last four (two draws, two defeats) coming into this match. However, the previous four meetings between these two sides have ended level. 

Maurizio Sarri's men boast the second-best defensive record in Europe's top five leagues, keeping 18 clean sheets and shipping just 20 goals — only Barcelona have a better record. 

The Biancocelesti boss will hope that Felipe Anderson can fire his side to victory. The Brazilian has been involved in more goals against Torino (five goals and three assists in 11 meetings) than any other side.

The weekend's other games

Verona vs Bologna (Friday, 7.45pm)

Salernitana vs Sassuolo (Saturday, 2pm)

Sampdoria vs Spezia (Saturday, 7.45pm)

Monza vs Fiorentina (Sunday, 2pm)

Udinese vs Cremonese (Sunday, 2pm)

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