Napoli coach Rudi Garcia explains Khvicha Kvaratskhelia needs to rest and ‘make the difference in the second half’ so he starts on the bench against Empoli.
The Partenopei host the Tuscans at the Stadio Maradona in Sunday’s first Serie A game.
Garcia has surprisingly dropped Kvara, picking a 4-2-3-1 formation with both Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone starting.
Sky Sport asked Garcia before kick-off why he had dropped Kvaratskhelia from Napoli’s starting XI.
“Exclusion is a bad word, it is just to let him breathe and make the difference in the second half, this is the plan,” the French coach replied.
“I think we needed new forces, that’s why there are four new players. With this system, we can have a presence inside the box and score more goals. Having Raspadori and Simeone together can help us win if we bring the ball where we want.”
Garcia added: “4-3-3 remains a system that players know by heart and which we may use today too.”
Napoli will leapfrog Milan in third place with a win over Empoli today, but the Partenopei have not won at home since September 27.
“It’s been too long and this is an extra motivation,” said Garcia.
“We want to make our fans happy and win this game.”
Napoli-Empoli kicks off at 11:30 GMT and you can follow live updates from the Stadio Maradona in the liveblog.
Serie A defending champions Napoli have collected 21 points in 11 games collecting six wins, three draws and two defeats.
Kvaratskhelia has three goals and five assists in 14 appearances across all competitions this season.