Suggesting Napoli should take a leaf out of Juventus’ book would be tantamount to sacrilege for the Partenopei.

One may as well deface one of the murals dedicated to Diego Maradona that adorn the Spanish Quarters or stroll into one of Naples’ pizzerias and demand pineapple on their margherita.

It would arguably hurt Neapolitans less, such is the rivalry with the Bianconeri.

And yet following Juventus’ example may lead Napoli to a second Scudetto in three seasons. Inter Milan’s 2-2 draw against Bologna on Wednesday night left the Azzurri top of Serie A with 47 points after 20 matches and a three-point gap over the reigning Serie A champions, who have a game in hand.

Atalanta, Napoli’s opponents on Saturday night, are a point further back having played the same number of matches as Antonio Conte’s men.

Ever the pragmatist, Conte has steadfastly refused to entertain talks of winning the Scudetto, treating his debut season at the feet of Mount Vesuvius as the first building block towards something bigger – namely, restoring Napoli at the top of Serie A.

Taken at face value, it is hard to disagree with his statement. After all, as the former Italy manager himself was at pains to point out in the summer, the team he took over finished 10th last season, some 40 points behind champions Inter.

“It was no fluke or accident,” Conte said back in August.

“The league table spoke volumes, and the gap to our rivals was astronomical. Anyone who thinks it was just bad luck is simply wrong.”

Had Napoli been a boxer last season, they would have been better off vacating their title rather than trying to defend it.

The confetti from the title parade had barely been swept off the streets by the time Luciano Spalletti walked away in the summer, the prospect of tending to his vineyard proving too tempting to resist.

Victor Osimhen’s goals dried up, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s magic waned ever so slightly and the Partenopei cycled through three managers to finish mid-table.

And yet, therein lies the great paradox about Napoli. Their dismal title defence last season may have handed Conte a significant advantage this term.

The lack of European football has allowed him to have as much time on the training ground as possible, a crucial factor for a manager who is so granular in his approach.

“This is the starting point for our rebuild,” Conte said of his training methods before the start of the season.

“After that, I’ll focus on developing the players in all areas of their game. I’m accustomed to high-intensity training, and I believe it’s essential.

“What you do in training is what you get in a game. If we can create a high-intensity training environment, our match performance will improve significantly.”

For managers, there is no substitute for time spent on the training ground. It’s why coaches who are brought in mid-season often lament the lack of time at their disposal to get their message through to their players.

The other obvious benefit of not playing every three days is that Conte has been essentially allowed to pick his best XI week in, week out, keeping rotation to a minimum.

It has been a significant advantage for Napoli whose squad, by their manager’s own admission, needed a complete overhaul. The arrivals of Scott McTominay, Romelu Lukaku, David Neres and Billy Gilmour partly saw to that, but they may not have had the same impact had they been asked to play twice a week.

While Napoli have moved along serenely, the impact of playing European football has been evident on their closest rivals. Of the other teams currently making up Serie A’s top five, only Atalanta have made light work of continental duties, winning 15 points out of a possible 18 after playing in the Champions League.

Inter’s form has been patchier, with wins against Torino and Lazio, draws against Juventus and Napoli and defeat in the Derby della Madonnina against AC Milan.

Lazio have won four of the six games they have played after their Europa League fixtures, but have lost to Parma and were eviscerated 6-0 at home by Inter before Christmas.

To nobody’s surprise, Juventus have won just once after their Champions League exertions – beating Torino in the first Derby della Mole of the season – drawing against Napoli, Cagliari, Inter, Lecce and Venezia.

A calendar unencumbered by European duties is by no means necessary to succeed in the league, but it helps. So much so that to find the last team to win the Scudetto in a season where they did not take part in continental competitions, one has to go back to Juventus’ unbeaten campaign 13 years ago.

The common denominator with the current Napoli side? Conte and a lack of European football, of course.

Peel the curtain back a bit further, however, and there are even more striking parallels between the two sides.

While Napoli finished 10th last term, by the time Juventus appointed Conte as manager in the summer of 2012, the Bianconeri had finished seventh in the two previous campaigns and gone through four managers in four seasons.

Just as Conte warned in the summer that Napoli would have to drastically restructure their squad, Juventus made 12 signings in his first transfer window in charge.

But there is more.

The Bianconeri’s unbeaten season was built upon a rock-solid defence which allowed just 20 goals in 38 matches.

With 12 goals conceded so far, Napoli have the joint-best defensive record of any team in Europe’s top five leagues along with Atletico Madrid and have kept 12 clean sheets in 20 Serie A fixtures, the most of any team across Serie A, the Premier League, the Bundesliga, LaLiga and Ligue 1.

At this stage of the 2011-12 season, Juventus had conceded 13 goals and led defending champions Milan by one point, with the surprise package of the season Udinese in third and Lazio in fourth.

Napoli lead current title holders Inter by three points, with the surprise package of the season Atalanta in third and Lazio in fourth.

Conte’s first title in charge of Juventus was the starting point for an era of unprecedented domination, with the Bianconeri winning the next eight consecutive titles – two with Conte, five under Massimiliano Allegri and one with Maurizio Sarri in charge.

Nobody expects anything remotely similar from Napoli, but were he to lead them to the Scudetto this season, Conte may be forgiven for taking a leaf out of Juventus’ book. After all, he has written this particular chapter before.