Napoli are under immense pressure to end their negative streak against Udinese, as Kalidou Koulibaly, Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon start.
It kicks off at 17.00 GMT at the Dacia Arena.
Napoli are under immense pressure to end their negative streak against Udinese, as Kalidou Koulibaly, Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon start.
It kicks off at 17.00 GMT at the Dacia Arena.
Carlo Ancelotti continues to fight off talk of the sack or even his resignation after a dismal run of results, without a win in six Serie A rounds, not to mention the tension caused by the squad ‘mutiny’ against a club-ordered training retreat.
In a bid to take back control of the situation, Ancelotti decided to call a training retreat this week, as Napoli also need a point against Genk in the Champions League to progress to the last 16.
With all this going on, Napoli also have injuries to deal with, as Arkadiusz Milik, Allan, Faouzi Ghoulam, Kevin Malcuit and Lorenzo Tonelli didn’t make the trip to Udine.
Mertens and Koulibaly are also carrying injuries, the defender falling heavily on to his shoulder in training, but both are in the starting XI nonetheless.
Callejon returns after he was dropped for two games in a row, with Lorenzo Insigne out wide, with Ancelotti shelving the brief return to a 4-3-3 formation.
Fernando Llorente and Hirving Lozano represent the new front two, with Lorenzo Insigne out wide.
It is a special match for Alex Meret, who returns to face his hometown club.
Udinese are only four points clear of the relegation zone with one point from the last three rounds, but their confidence did get a boost in a 4-0 midweek Coppa Italia victory over Bologna.
Mato Jajalo and Ken Sema have not recovered in time for this game, but Stefano Okaka and Kevin Lasagna as the front two, sending Ilija Nestorovski to the bench.
Argentina international Rodrigo De Paul pulls the midfield strings, but his form has been nowhere near what it was last season, scoring only one goal in 11 games so far.
Napoli have won their last six Serie A meetings with Udinese, home and away.
Udinese: Musso; De Maio, Troost-Ekong, Nuytinck; Ter-Avest, Fofana, Mandragora, De Paul, Stryger-Larsen; Okaka, Lasagna
Napoli: Meret; Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Callejon, Fabian Ruiz, Zielinski, Insigne; Mertens, Lozano
Ref: Mariani