Vincenzo Montella warns Catania they cannot take anything for granted against Lecce on Saturday, even if it’s an historic occasion.
Vincenzo Montella warns Catania they cannot take anything for granted against Lecce on Saturday, even if it’s an historic occasion.
The Elefantini mark their 500th Serie A match in the 17.00 UK time kick-off, but are coming off two consecutive defeats.
“This is an important game, very similar to the one we played at Novara,” said the Coach.
“We are coming off a home defeat, so much give ourselves some answers in terms of consistency.”
There are changes in defence, as Nicolas Spolli is suspended and Pablo Alvarez unavailable.
“Alvarez hasn’t trained for two days because he has a fever. In Serie A you cannot afford to play if you are not 100 per cent fit.
“Mariano Izco has been out for two weeks, but always worked with the team. He is a physical player and in the right shape to feature. If I have to risk someone, I’ll do it with a player I feel can be the most useful.
“I will admit we concede quite a lot of goals, but that’s inevitable if we play attacking and open football. If you score one more than your opponents, then you still win. We will continue to approach football this way.”
It will be an intriguing meeting with Eusebio Di Francesco’s Lecce, as he was Montella’s teammate at Roma.
“There is a strong friendship, almost like brothers, but tomorrow we will be adversaries rather than enemies. It’ll be our first time against each other.”