League leaders Juventus will try to pull clear of the pack when they travel to Napoli on Tuesday to play a game in hand over their nearest rivals.
Juve are a point clear at the top of Serie A but have played one match fewer than the rest of the top four.
They are also the only unbeaten team remaining in the league but are facing a side that has been in great giant-killing form this season.
Napoli have beaten champions AC Milan, Inter Milan and Manchester City as they have managed to raise their game when facing supposedly bigger teams.
But it is against the minnows that they have struggled, losing to the likes of Parma, Catania and Chievo.
Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri denies his side are aiming to compete for the title but if they do harbour such ambitions, or even aims of qualifying for the Champions League for a second successive season, then they will need to win this one.
They trail Juve by 10 points and have to start eating into that if they are to enjoy a season as successful as their last campaign when they finished third.
That put them straight into the Champions Leage group stages and Mazzarri believes the extra commitment is costing them in the league.
"If we weren't playing in the Champions League we would have four or five points more now," he said.
"We're paying because we can't prepare properly for the league matches.
"We're having a great experience in the Champions League but we're not used to the dual commitments."
That is something Juve don't have to worry about as they finished seventh last season, for the second year in a row, and missed out on European qualification altogether.
The club let Luigi Delneri leave and replaced him with Antonio Conte, for whom all has been going well to date.
"Conte is doing very well, he's influencing the team but also because they're not in the cups," added Mazzarri.
Juve won 1-0 at Lazio on Saturday, their third victory against a potential title rival this season having already beaten both Milans.
One of their key players has been Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio but he will be missing in Naples as he serves a suspension.
But that doesn't worry Conte who believes he has the squad to cope.
"I have some precious options in the squad, players who want to do something important," he said.
"Against Lazio, (Marcelo) Estigarribia and (Emanuele) Giaccherini came on and showed the right impetus and made an excellent contribution.
"Everyone's replying in an excellent way and trying to make my choices difficult and I like that a lot."
After this match both sides have four more games before the winter break and Juve's appear harder on paper as they must travel to Udinese and Roma.
Source: AFP
