The Napoli striker has propelled his side to the summit of Serie A with 24 goals in 24 games, but his fellow Argentine is also in fine form ahead of Saturday's showdown
Giovanni Trapattoni believesPaulo Dybala has been just as integral to Juventus' resurgence this season as Gonzalo Higuain has to Napoli's Serie A title challenge.
The Bianconeri made a dreadful start to their bid for a fifth successive Scudetto, losing four of their opening 10 games to leave themselves languishing 12th in the table, 11 points off top spot.
Juve have completely turned around their campaign after a run of 14 consecutive league wins, however, with Dybala playing a key role in their revival.
The €32 million summer signing from Palermo initially struggled to nail down a regular place in Massimiliano Allegri's starting line-up, instead restricted to a string of substitute appearances.
However, the 22-year-old has now established himself as Juve's first-choice attacker after a run of form that has seen him become the youngest player across Europe's top five leagues to be involved in more than 20 goals this term (13 goals, eight assists).
Higuain, meanwhile, has scored a sensational 24 times in 24 games, with the former Real Madrid man on course to break Gino Rossetti's Serie A record of 36 goals during a single campaign. He has already netted against Juve this term, bagging the crucial second goal in a 2-1 win over the Old Lady at the San Paolo in September.
The former Real Madrid man is expected to be just as influential in Saturday's showdown in Turin, which pits league leaders Napoli against the second-placed Bianconeri, but Trapattoni is of the opinion that Dybala could prove just as decisive as his countryman.
"Higuain's goalscoring ratio speaks for itself, so it would be foolish not to acknowledge him as a key man in this game," the former Bianconeri boss told Goal.
"But Juve have a really promising kid in Dybala, who is developing in the right way and is currently living a very happy and serene moment in his career.
"Juventus changed a lot of things during the summer and, honestly, this resurgence hasn't surprised me.
"There were many factors at play when things were not going well but I believe that Juve managed to attain the requisite consistency thanks to Dybala's explosion."
Unsurprisingly, Trapattoni was keen to pay tribute to the two coaches, Maurizio Sarri and Allegri, for their respective sides' title challenges.
Sarri took charge of Napoli last summer having established a reputation as one of the most innovative coaches in Serie A during his time in charge of Empoli, but he endured a difficult start to the season during which he was criticised by Partenopei icon Diego Maradona.
However, the 57-year-old has now led the club to the summit of Serie A on the back of a historic eight-game winning streak.
Allegri received a hostile welcome in Turin in the summer of 2014 due to his previous ties with Juve's great rivals AC Milan, but he has also since won over Bianconeri fans after clinching a domestic double in his first season at the helm.
Trapattoni has the utmost respect for both bosses, believing that Sarri and Allegri deserve immense credit for the way in which they have gone about their work.
"They're both managing to have good results despite travelling on different paths," the ex-Republic of Ireland manager mused.
"Both have one thing in common, though: they were both welcomed with scepticism and, with time and dedication, have been able to form two competitive squads of great quality.
"Napoli are in a great moment. In the summer, they selected a coach equipped with excellent ideas. Tactically, the game is open to any scenario and, considering the high technical quality of those set to take to the field, everything could be decided by one attack or a single incident.
"Both teams can count on two coaches on the highest level, who know how to prepare for this game in the best possible way."
Despite the fact that Trapattoni believes victory in Turin would represent a huge psychological boost for a Napoli side that has lost its four previous visits to Juventus Stadium, he does not believe that the game should be billed as a title-decider as a Napoli win would only propel the Partenopei five points clear of their closest rivals with a further 13 rounds to play.
"There's still a long way to go and there are so many points still to play for," he pointed out. "With a good result, though, Napoli would certainly benefit from a mental perspective, as it would inevitably intensify their conviction that they can win the title.
"But it's hard to say who will win the game. Juventus are playing at home. They're used to handling the pressure and they have many great professionals within their squad who feel perfectly at ease in games such as these. But the same goes for Napoli.
"Whoever makes the fewest mistakes will win the game."
- Goal