Maurizio Sarri can win his first trophy in charge of Juventus when the Old Lady clash with his former club Napoli in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday.
The Neapolitan has experienced a rocky existence in the Juve hotseat but can put prior frustrations to one side when his team travel to the Italian capital.
The 61-year-old has already tasted defeat to his former employers in the league, but will be hoping to reverse that trend a clinch Juve a record-extending 14th title.
Napoli, now headed by Gennaro Gattuso, will be hoping to scoop their first Coppa Italia trophy since 2014.
They eliminated a very competent Inter Milan side in the semi-finals, winning 2-1 on aggregate, including Sunday’s 1-1 draw. Gattuso also has previous in this tournament, reaching the final with AC Milan in 2018.
Juve meanwhile saw off the Rossoneri last Friday, progressing to the showpiece event on away goals after a lacklustre 0-0 draw, with Cristiano Ronaldo exhibiting signs of rust after missing a penalty and firing a blank. The Portuguese superstar will be hoping the three-month shutdown hasn’t affected his sharpness too much.
The penultimate matches last week certainly won’t live long in the memory, but this blockbuster bout between two bitter adversaries is shaping up to be quite the event. Polarising Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has already sparked a war of words with Sarri and added another fascinating layer to this narrative, branding his compatriot a ‘cheater’ after he abandoned his beloved club for Chelsea in 2018.
With that heated subplot, an abundance of world class players on display and two of Italy’s most iconic clubs going head-to-head, this is a final you will not want to miss — not even for the Premier League.
Napoli vs Juventus kick-off time and details:
Competition: Coppa Italia Final
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Date: Wednesday, 17 June 2020
Kick-off: 20:00 PM (UK time)
Where to watch Napoli vs Juventus on TV:
TV coverage (UK): BT Sport 2
TV coverage (US): ESPN
Napoli vs Juventus predict line-ups:
- Napoli: Ospina*; Di Lorenzo, Maksimovic, Koulibaly, Hysajs; Elmas, Demme, Zielinski; Politano, Insigne, Mertens.
- Juventus: Buffon; Danilo, De Ligt, Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Bentancur, Pjanic, Matuidi; Dybala, Costa, Ronaldo.
Live Scorecard: