Napoli director of sport Giovanni Manna thanks Romelu Lukaku for his ‘100 per cent’ commitment to the club and has ‘faith’ Billy Gilmour will replace Stanislav Lobotka adequately against Empoli.
It kicks off at the Stadio Castellani at 11.30 UK time (10.30 GMT).
The Partenopei are top of the Serie A table and continue with the trident of Lukaku, Matteo Politano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The former Chelsea striker spent the last two weeks training intensively with Antonio Conte rather than accepting the call-up from Belgium.
“Lukaku is a player we’re not just discovering this season, he is a champion, both on and off the field,” Manna told DAZN.
“He didn’t have any pre-season training, but his desire to be at Napoli 100 per cent is why he turned down international duty.”
New Napoli era under Conte
When Conte arrived, it was noted that the coach would have more duties than the traditional Italian tactician, which means working more closely with the director of sport.
“It is an advantage to have a great coach who keeps everyone on their toes.”
This is the first time since April 2022 that Napoli have played a match without Stanislav Lobotka, as he returned from international duty with Slovakia carrying a muscular injury.
With that in mind, Billy Gilmour steps into the starting XI with Scott McTominay.
“Lobotka is an important player for us, but it is Gilmour’s chance now and we have faith in him. It goes without saying that this is an important match, as they all are. Empoli are a well-constructed team with a fine coach.
“There are three big games in a row coming up for us and they’ll tell us how far along we are in our journey. We have to take it one match at a time.”
Following this fixture, Napoli are away to Lecce, host Milan, then face Atalanta, Inter and Roma in November.