Reports in Italy claim that Antonio Conte is planning a shift in his formation and tactics and Napoli to cope with the loss of winger David Neres, who is expected to miss around a month of action with a muscular injury.
Napoli have confirmed that Neres picked up a muscular injury in the final minutes of the team’s 1-1 draw with Udinese in Serie A over the weekend, which could keep him sidelined for a run of key games, including ones against Lazio and Inter.
Though he joined the Partenopei in the summer transfer window, the Brazilian was effectively Napoli’s left-wing replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who joined Paris Saint-Germain in a €70m deal in January. With Neres now out, Conte is currently without a natural left-winger in his first-team squad.
There had been suggestions that the coach could look to deploy one of his full-backs such as Leonardo Spinazzola or Pasqualie Mazzocchi in a more advanced role while Neres is out, however, reports on Thursday suggest that Conte is now leaning towards a complete change in shape.
Conte plans Napoli tactical shift
According to the likes of La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport, Conte is likely to switch from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2, which would see Giacomo Raspadori partner Romelu Lukaku in a two-man strike partnership.
If that does prove to be the case, then it would mean Raspadori’s first start in Serie A since the 2-1 win over Parma all the way back on August 31.
The 3-5-2 would allow Conte to stick with his preferred midfield three of Scott McTominay, Stanislav Lobotka and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, but would mean Matteo Politano dropping to the bench.
There are also reports that Alessandro Buongiorno could make his long-awaited return to the centre of the Partenopei defence against Lazio at the weekend.
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