Napoli were forced to settle for a goalless draw against Como in Serie A on Saturday, as Luciano Spalletti prepared for his debut in charge of Juventus away to Cremonese.
The reigning champions, Napoli, remain one point ahead of their nearest challengers Roma, who could seize the top spot with a victory over AC Milan on Sunday night. The match in Naples was a tightly contested affair against a spirited and ambitious Como side.
For the second consecutive fixture, goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic spared Napoli’s blushes with a crucial penalty save. This time, he denied Alvaro Morata from scoring his first goal for Como after fouling the Spanish forward midway through the first half.
That proved to be the clearest chance of an otherwise cautious contest, which has allowed Napoli’s rivals to close in on the race for the Scudetto.
Both Milan clubs are within striking distance of the top. AC Milan are four points off the summit ahead of their headline clash with Roma at San Siro, while third-placed Inter Milan travel to struggling Verona in Sunday’s early encounter.
Napoli now shift focus to their Champions League duties, as they prepare to host Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday night. Antonio Conte’s men sit on three points from their opening three group-stage fixtures, having suffered a heavy defeat at PSV Eindhoven last month.
Como, meanwhile, continue their impressive run of form, now sitting fifth in the table — just one point behind both Milan sides — after extending their unbeaten league streak to eight matches.
Former Napoli favourite Luciano Spalletti is set to begin his tenure with Juventus when he leads the Turin giants against Cremonese. Only one point and two league places separate the two sides going into the match.
Spalletti was officially unveiled as Juventus’ new head coach on Thursday, following the dismissal of Igor Tudor earlier in the week. The 66-year-old signed a deal running until the end of the season.
Juventus currently trail Napoli by seven points as they prepare for the trip to the Stadio Giovanni Zini, where veteran striker Jamie Vardy will be seeking his second Serie A goal after opening his account against Atalanta last week.
Atalanta’s unbeaten run came to an end earlier in the day at Udinese, where Nicolo Zaniolo scored the decisive goal five minutes before half-time — his third strike in four matches.
Ivan Juric’s side have now gone six league games without a win and sit 11th in the table, five points adrift of the Champions League qualification spots.