Napoli

26th May 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
When the news filtered through that AS Roma had overcome Chievo Verona 5-3 ahead of Napoli's clash with Fiorentina, the Partenopei knew nothing less than a win would do to keep their slim hopes alive of finishing second and getting an automatic passage into the group stage of next season's Champions League.

They emphatically responded by swiping aside Paulo Sousa's talented outfit 4-1, in a match where they exhibited their customarily fluent and exciting offensive style of football. While Dries Mertens, Marek Hamsik and Lorenzo Insigne deservedly took the lion's share of the plaudits, the performance of holding midfielder, Jorginho, merited just as much praise.

The elegant Italian-Brazilian regista, who's endured a battle with Amadou Diawara in his chosen position this season, which has seen him spend his fair share of time on the bench, but is now coexisting well with the Guinean, hardly put a foot wrong throughout the win.

15th February 2017. By Ryan Baldi.
Napoli will take on Real Madrid in the Champions League last-16 this week, and, in Dries Mertens, they have unearthed an unlikely hero who could fire them to victory over the European champions.

The diminutive Belgian has been in superlative form this season, but he probably wouldn't even be starting against Los Blancos were it not for the fact that circumstance robbed the Italian side of two top class strikers over the summer.

Replacing a player of Gonzalo Higuain's calibre is never easy. Especially after the Argentinian striker set a new Serie A record with his 36 goals last season.

But that's the task Napoli were faced with last summer, and, almost by accident, they found their new star in the last place they thought to look: right under their nose.

Napoli were powerless to stop Higuain from sealing his record-breaking €90million move to champions Juventus last July as the player's contract contained a

10th February 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
In Napoli's colossal 7-1 destruction of Bologna, their dynamic, all-action midfielder, Piotr Zielinski, once again showed why he's such a weapon for Maurizio Sarri's men.

This game served as another glowing reference that his presence really gives the Partonepei another dimension going forward. Although Allan, who's his main rival for a spot in Napoli's midfield alongside the sensational Marek Hamsik and the intelligent Amadou Diawara, is a fine player in his own right, he's more of an industrious, less offensively gifted operator.

From the outset against Bologna, Zielinski's energy, thoughtful movement and strong technical qualities ensured the Rossoblu had a tough evening containing Napoli's right sided central midfielder.

Firstly, his exquisite range of passing deserves special mention, for, aside from seeing him link up tidily with his colleagues, this aspect of his game saw him supply two absolutely outstanding

18th April 2016.
Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain turned 28 in December. His resume at this point includes more than a decade of senior football play, including six and a half seasons with Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid. Despite those facts, though, Higuain is currently in the midst of the best season of his entire career. Playing his third season at Italy's Napoli, Higuain has netted 30 goals in 31 Serie A appearances since last fall. He's never scored more than 27 goals in a league season before, and he's never cracked the 30 mark even across all competitions.

A Career-Defining Performance

Higuain's 2015/16 campaign accomplishments are even more impressive when considered in relation to what everyone else in the Serie A is doing. With 30 goals, the Argentine offensive star is handily the league's top scorer. In fact, at this juncture,

By Greg Lea.

If you have plans for Saturday evening, cancel them. The only thing worth doing at that point of the weekend is settling down on the sofa to watch Juventus' crunch clash with Napoli, a meeting of two Italian heavyweights that could play a huge part in deciding the destination of this season's Serie A title.

Just two points separate the pair at the top of the table, with Maurizio Sarri's side marginally better off than the defending champions. Juventus' 2-0 victory over Frosinone last weekend was their 14^th consecutive win in the league a new club record while Napoli have triumphed in their last eight and taken 52 points from the last 57 on offer. While Roma, Inter and Fiorentina were all still in the title picture at Christmas, the race on the peninsula now looks to be limited to two horses.

Whereas Juventus are looking to claim their fifth successive Scudetto, Napoli

There was a month or two earlier this season where it looked like Juventus might stumble in their pursuit of a fifth consecutive Serie A title. Now, after 21 weeks of play in Italy's top-flight football league, the Zebras are just two points off the lead. Furthermore, Juventus have now won 11 Serie A matches in a row, and 13 of their last 14 games across all competitions.

Even last season, when Juve never left the top Serie A spot after taking up residence there in week four, the soccer club never managed an 11-game winning streak. In fact, the last time Juventus was in this kind of undefeated mode was in the middle of the 2013/14 Serie A campaign, when they won 12 games in a row from late October to late January. The Zebras, of course, won that league campaign with a record 102 points-17 points more than their nearest competitors, AS Roma.

In the Spanish La Liga, five points currently separate the top four clubs on the standings table. In the English Premier League, the top-four spread is six points. In the German Bundesliga, it's 17 points. In the French Ligue 1, it's 24. Compare those figure to the Serie A, where just three points separate the top four soccer clubs on the league standings table, and it's clear to see that Italy's top-flight division is the fiercest competition in all of European football this season.

Indeed, fueled by the early season struggles of Juventus and the comeback of Inter Milan, the Italian Serie A has been an unpredictable battle this season. As of the matches played during the weekend of January 9^th, Napoli are leading the way in the league with a tally of 41 points. Juventus and Inter Milan are two points back, with Juve enjoying the advantage thanks to superior goal difference. Fiorentina round out the top four, with a point tally of 38.

It was never going to be pretty. A tough away trip to Bergamo faced Napoli after having drawn and lost in the previous two rounds against Bologna and Roma. Conversely, Atalanta had beaten both Roma and Lazio this term and looked to enact a similar fate to the Neapolitans.

Many neutrals thought another consecutive disappointing result for Napoli would help to derail their push for a Champions League place, given their history in these situations and just how competitive this campaign has been. This current season in Italy has been largely unpredictable and exciting, therefore no one really knew what to expect at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia.

A victory was needed to shake off their inconsistent form and end the year on a positive note for Maurizio Sarri's men, with Champions League aspirations and a deep run in the Europa League a benchmark for the Partenopei.

Recent seasons have highlighted

By Matthew Amalfitano.

The transfer window is almost upon us and Italian clubs are already on hot pursuit of talented players to reinforce their respective squads for the second half of the season. After slow starts, Napoli and Juventus find themselves within the first four places. Leaders Inter and Fiorentina have perhaps been the most surprising of the top teams while Roma and Milan round out the top six.

Order Serie A Jerseys

Here's an overview of what areas clubs should invest in during the January transfer window:

Inter

Roberto Mancini arrived in November of last year to replace Walter Mazzarri and quickly began to form the squad of his liking in the subsequent transfer window. Further additions were introduced

For the first part of the 2015/16 Serie A season, it seemed as if Juventus' reign at the zenith of Italian soccer was about to come to an end. The Zebras entered the season as just about the surest bets in the world: not only were they carrying four consecutive Serie A titles (and going for a fifth), but they were also the reigning holders of the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italia, and were fresh off a runner-up finish in the UEFA Champions League.

And yet, when Juventus kicked off their 2015/16 campaign, they didn't look like the decorated football club they are. Week one brought a 0-1 loss against Udinese-and at home, no less. Week two and week three were hardly better, bringing a loss against Roma and a draw with Chievo, respectively. The Zebras finally won a game roughly a month into the season, winning 2-0 at Genoa. But subsequent losses