Napoli vs Juventus: Italian press anticipate ‘special encounter’ between Conte & Spalletti

Despite the careers of Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti and Napoli boss Antonio Conte being long and storied, both coaches spending lots of time leading clubs in Italy’s top flight and abroad, the two have never met in a competitive capacity.

Other than one pre-season friendly, the two coaches have never come head-to-head until this weekend’s clash. The Gazzetta dello Sport have called it a ‘special encounter’ between two coaches with ‘chessboard careers’.

Therefore, Sunday night’s game carries extra gravity.

Juventus currently sit five points behind Sunday’s opposition, with the Bianconeri all the way down in 7th place. It is a very close race in the upper echelons of the table but Juventus are still yet to lose under Spalletti.

Since his arrival, the Old Lady have won four games in all competitions, drawing three-in-a-row in November. Therefore, things look to be improving under the former national team coach and a trip to Napoli is exactly the sort of test that is needed to see how good things really look.