Having been out of the UEFA Champions League, Juventus has also found 12 points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan on the log after 28 games.

The Bianconerri aims to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League after being ousted by Portuguese giant Porto. They strive for the spot because they stand to lose more than €80m if they fail to qualify for the top club tournament.

The Old Lady, which hosted Napoli at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday night in a crucial game for both sides’ Champions League qualification hopes, shares the 4th spot – the qualifying spot, with 56 points each. They are only leading the Pertonopei by goal difference.

Gennaro Gattuso’sGattuso’s men will;l also be hoping to nip that spot and know the financial incentive that comes with it. So, losing the game against Napoli will put them three points behind, and win will put them the same point above them. Winning will be good for their confidence after struggling to get a 2-2 draw against Torino last weekend.

Napoli, on their part, nipped a last gasp winner against relegation-threatened Crotone, winning by 4-3.

According to Il Corriere dello Sport and La Gazzetta dello Sport, a quarter of Juventus’ operating income since 2012 was from  the clubs’ elite competition.

The Old Lady had earlier in the year posted a loss of €113.7m for the first six months of 2020-21. This, according to La Repubblica, has made Juventus president Andrea Agnelli to be disappointed with the management. It is being speculated that he could try to bring back Inter CEO Beppe Marotta to the club.

The situation has also left Andrea Pirlo’sPirlo’s position under scrutiny. Although the Italian has said he is unmoved by speculations surrounding his future t the club, anything could happen before the season ends.

The newspaper that Agnelli is not satisfied with directors Fabio Paratici and Pavel Nedved. Apart from that,  the Juve boss is also unhappy about last summer’s signings and the Luis Suarez case’s implications in terms of image.

The paper said the two directors could be sacked and be replaced with Marotta, who could be made the CEO again, and current Napoli sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli.