Juventus vs. Napoli: Italian Super Cup 2014 Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview
Two of Italy's powerhouses face off in Qatar on Monday to contest the 2014 Italian Super Cup in front of a Doha audience, with Juventus hoping to defend their title against Napoli.
The Serie A contenders currently sit 12 points apart in the league rankings and Massimiliano Allegri's Scudetto favourites are hoping to build on their place at the summit with a triumph in international territory.
Third-place Napoli's participation in the Champions League playoffs meant the original fixture—scheduled for August 24—could not be played, but the chance for a midweek clash of this magnitude is nonetheless welcome.
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Read on for all the necessary viewing information for Monday's matchup, along with preview of which players and key head-to-head battle to keep an eye on.
Date: Monday, Dec. 22
Time: 5 p.m. GMT/12 p.m. ET
TV Info: Sky Sports 5 (UK), beIN Sports 3 (U.S.)
Man to Watch: Carlos Tevez
Juventus have relied largely on striking sensation Carlos Tevez to steer them to the head of Italy's order this season, but a struggle for fitness looked as though it could threaten the Argentine's involvement in Qatar.
However, Allegri has since confirmed his ace is likely to start against Rafa Benitez's men, quoted by Nicholas McGee of Goal.com as saying:
"Tevez made the difference for us in the first six matches and a Champions League game at home to Malmo. He scored a lot of goals and played a key role throughout games. He's clearly not 100 per cent fit at the moment but he's such a big player he can still make the difference at any time. How do I manage him? We're off on holiday on Tuesday so he'll have eight days' break [after the clash with Napoli].
"
With that prolonged rest period to look forward to, Tevez will assuredly seek to end his 2014 on a high note, currently leading Serie A's scoring ranks after netting 10 goals in his 15 appearances.
The South American's most recent strike came in a 3-1 win over Cagliari, Soccer Gods providing footage of the opener that helped send Juve three points clear at the top of Serie A:
Domestically, Allegri's men would certainly appear to have the upper hand on Benitez's challengers, who have kept only one clean sheet in their last four games.
Just as he has done against most of their opponents this term, Tevez will look to be the turning point that shifts things in the Bianconeri's favour, with his manager giving him full backing to do so.
Key Battle
Patrice Evra vs. Jose Callejon
Injury to Kwadwo Asamoah hasn't been a great deterrent to Allegri's side in any sense, but the Ghanaian's ongoing absence in Doha does give Jose Callejon more hope of success.
That's where Patrice Evra will look to extinguish any impact the Spaniard may bring to Benitez's right flank, however, with David Amoyal of GianlucaDiMarzio.com outlining the Frenchman's swift adaptation to Italy's ranks:
Callejon is Napoli's most accurate forward this term and currently leads the team's scoring list with eight goals to his name, Gonzalo Higuain closely following with seven.
The former Real Madrid man will be all but too happy to take full advantage of any openings Evra might give away, Squawka's Ian Capasso noting before the 2-0 loss to Milan how dangerous his input can be:
Evra won't be likely to offer up space so easily in Qatar, though, and Callejon will undoubtedly find it difficult when coming up against a figure of such wisdom.
That being said, in order for the Azzurri to gain a foothold in the contest, their finest attacking weapon has to be able to both provide and be the direct threat on Gianluigi Buffon's goal, something Evra will look to prevent.
