Napoli look to Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Adam Ounas as they host Chievo making their debut under third Coach of the season Domenico Di Carlo.
It kicks off at the Stadio San Paolo at 14.00 GMT.
Napoli look to Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Adam Ounas as they host Chievo making their debut under third Coach of the season Domenico Di Carlo.
It kicks off at the Stadio San Paolo at 14.00 GMT.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men need a victory to maintain the six-point gap from leaders Juventus and three-point lead from Inter, as both their rivals won on Saturday.
Simone Verdi and Amin Younes are still injured, but Arkadiusz Milik was expected to be the strike partner for Insigne today, yet he makes way for Mertens again.
It’s a special match for Insigne, as his 278th competitive game in a Napoli jersey, putting him in the top 10 alongside Paolo Cannavaro.
There are rare starts also for Amadou Diawara and Adam Ounas, who impressed in training this week.
Chievo have had a chaotic season, starting from -3 points due to financial irregularities and firing Lorenzo D’Anna after two points from eight rounds.
Giampiero Ventura took over, managed one draw from four games and promptly resigned, drawing the ire of club and players, particularly Sergio Pellissier.
New man Di Carlo is actually in his third stint at the Bentegodi and said he would try to build around the ‘Chievo spirit’ personified by Pellissier, which is why the 37-year-old striker is in the starting XI.
Valter Birsa and Riccardo Meggiorini provide support, but Nicola Rigoni, Emanuele Giaccherini, Pawel Jaroszynski, Manuel Pucciarelli and Nenad Tomovic are injured.
Chievo have beaten Napoli only once, in September 2014, in their last 10 Serie A meetings, managing two draws and seven defeats, home and away.
Napoli: Karnezis; Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Malcuit; Callejon, Diawara, Zielinski, Ounas; Mertens, Insigne
Chievo: To follow