Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri said he expects an emotional return to his former club Napoli on Sunday as Lazio and Roma prepare for a derby clash in Serie A after both capital-city sides exited the Italian Cup during the week.
Sarri missed Juventus' home game against Napoli with pneumonia in August and Sunday's game at the Stadio San Paolo will be his first since leaving the club in 2018 before his move to Chelsea.
"It will be a tremendously difficult game, emotionally it will be particularly special. My relationship with Naples and above all the city was strong," said Sarri, after Juve reached the Italian Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win over Roma on Wednesday.
Juventus are top of the league with a four-point lead on second-placed Inter Milan, but Napoli -- Serie A runners-up in the past two seasons -- are struggling in 11th position, 14 points off the Champions League places.
"We must not look at their position in the table," Sarri continued. "They have a strong team. They are going through a difficult time but have good players.
"There are three points at stake."
"Now of course we need to keep it up, to climb back up the table."
One to watch
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Key stats
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50 - Atalanta's league goals scored in 20 games 27 - Napoli's points deficit to Juventus
23 - Ciro Immobile's league goals for Lazio this season 12 - Ronaldo's goals in last eight games
3 - Maurizio Sarri's seasons as Napoli coach
Fixtures (all times GMT) ========================
Friday
Brescia v AC Milan (1945)
Saturday
SPAL v Bologna (1400), Fiorentina v Genoa (1700), Torino v Atalanta (1945)
Sunday