Napoli need to get off to a strong start, but Gian Piero Gasperini’s Genoa are eager to cause an upset.
It kicks off at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for a match preview.
Napoli need to get off to a strong start, but Gian Piero Gasperini’s Genoa are eager to cause an upset.
It kicks off at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for a match preview.
Rafa Benitez called for calm and positivity among the Napoli fans after their Champions League play-off defeat to Athletic Bilbao.
That was already seen as tainting this season with failure and if they don’t impress in Serie A either, the powder keg could explode.
Faouzi Ghoulam is ruled out for three weeks after fracturing his arm in Bilbao, so Juan Camilo Zuniga is given a rare start.
Genoa are ready to cause an upset at Marassi and have a lot of talent on their books, even though summer signings Alessandro Matri (injured) and Facundo Roncaglia (suspended) can’t play tonight.
They can count on Mauricio Pinilla, who was inches away from knocking Brazil out of the World Cup in extra time when his strike rattled the bar for Chile.
Luca Antonelli, Ioannis Fetfatzidis, Riccardo Improta and Andrea Bertolacci also miss out.
Genoa: Perin; De Maio, Burdisso, Marchese; Antonelli, Rincon, Sturaro, Edenilson; Perotti, Pinilla, Kucka
Napoli: Rafael; Maggio, Albiol, Koulibaly, Zuniga; Inler, Jorginho; Insigne, Hamsik, Callejon; Higuain