Napoli director Riccardo Bigon concedes the pressure is on them to beat Roma this evening and it shows in the line-ups.
It kicks off at 19.45 GMT, click here for the line-ups chosen by each tactician.
Napoli director Riccardo Bigon concedes the pressure is on them to beat Roma this evening and it shows in the line-ups.
It kicks off at 19.45 GMT, click here for the line-ups chosen by each tactician.
“Without doubt losing a player is always a problem, but let’s not forget this has been a bit of an unlucky season in terms of injuries,” Bigon told Sky Sport Italia after Jorginho pulled out with flu.
“When some are out, others step in and either way Napoli are able to put in a strong performance.”
Roma are six points in front with a game in hand, but the Napoli director sees a very specific reason for that gap.
“I think the main difference between the campaigns has been European commitments. Roma played once a week, which meant spending seven days to prepare for a single game in physical, tactical and psychological terms.
“We have three days to prepare and over the course of a whole season that does make an impact.
“Of course a win would keep our very good chance of reaching second place open. A draw or defeat wouldn’t destroy those chances, but it would make the situation more difficult.”
Rudi Garcia surprised with his line-up tonight, dropping Mattia Destro and Vasilis Torosidis in favour of Michel Bastos and Alessio Romagnoli.
“I think the choices from Garcia reflect what he said in his Press conference yesterday, that the pressure is on us to win and they are content with a draw.
“Therefore they removed a centre-forward and set out in a way that will try to pack the midfield so they can go on rapid counter-attacks.”