DOHA hosts the 2014 Italian Super Coppa as Juventus take on Napoli. Mark O’Haire (@MarkOHaire) has a view he’d like to share.
Juventus v Napoli | Monday 17.00 | Sky Sports 5
Hours after defeating Cagliari on Thursday night, Juventus were on a flight to Qatar. The Old Lady wanted to do all they possibly could do prepare and acclimatise to the warm weather as they go in search of a third successive Super Coppa trophy.
Their 3-1 victory over the Sardinian strugglers ended a run of three consecutive draws but Juve have to be deemed favourites, and strong favourites at that. But Max Allegri’s men can be backed at 19/20 with Ladbrokes, a price that holds plenty of appeal.
The Serie A champions have won 15/22 games this season and already sitting a cool 12 points ahead of their opponents in domestic action. Even on neutral territory, the Old Lady could and perhaps should be a few points shorter in the betting.
Unlike in England, there’s a certain prestige about getting your hands on the Super Coppa so you can expect both sides to be gunning for glory. You can also rely on full strength XIs from both sides with Juve defender Andrea Barzagli the only first-choice name unlikely to feature from either team.
The Super Coppa tends to be an open, attacking game. It’s the last match before the winter break for both sides so we should be hopeful of another high-scoring encounter. Looking back through previous Super Coppa’s we can see that seven of the last eight produced winners in the Over 2.5 Goals column.
With that in mind, there’s appeal in the Over 2.5 Goals + Both Teams To Score market with Bet365 quoting 13/10. Juve have failed to shut out their opponents in three of their last five games and Napoli boast one of Italy’s most potent forward-lines.
But with Christmas just days away I’m going to hunt a big-priced winner. I’ll take Juventus to win and Both Teams To Score at 16/5 with William Hill. It’s a chunky price and makes complete sense when you expect a Juve win and Napoli to notch at least once.
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Juventus v Napoli – Juventus to win and Both Teams To Score (16/5 William Hill)