Vincenzo Montella is glad to see hometown club Napoli on top of the table, but warns Sampdoria will make life difficult.
It kicks off in Genoa today at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“I expect Napoli to be really fired up after the Coppa Italia defeat to Inter. Maurizio Sarri has such a strong squad and the visiting fans will absolutely make themselves heard,” said the Coach in a Press conference.
Vincenzo Montella is glad to see hometown club Napoli on top of the table, but warns Sampdoria will make life difficult.
It kicks off in Genoa today at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“I expect Napoli to be really fired up after the Coppa Italia defeat to Inter. Maurizio Sarri has such a strong squad and the visiting fans will absolutely make themselves heard,” said the Coach in a Press conference.
“It is great to see Napoli play at this level. However, as a Coach I will be concentrated only on my own team and won’t particularly feel the emotion of the occasion.
“Samp have often done well against the big clubs, as it brings extra motivation, and I am sure we won’t lack for concentration. I saw the lads angry and eager to make up for the defeat to Carpi.”
Marassi will host the two top scorers in Serie A right now, although Gonzalo Higuain has 20 in 20 games and Eder follows on 11.
“They have very different characteristics and in a way are complementary, so they could even play together,” added Montella.
“The way to stop Higuain is to cut off his supply, so it’s more of a team effort than just the defence. However, Napoli are not just Higuain. They have many champions like Manolo Gabbiadini and Marek Hamsik, while a great Coach like Sarri is very dangerous on set plays.”
Roberto Soriano was on the verge of a transfer to Napoli over the summer, but his contract was not deposited in time. He won’t be able to face his nearly teammates today, as he is suspended.
“It’s a shame we don’t have an important player like Soriano, but we have midfielders who can replace him. The new arrivals are ready to play and Dodo came to us in good physical shape.”
Sampdoria squad for Napoli: Brignoli, Puggioni, Viviano; Cassani, Dodo, Moisander, Pereira, Regini, Silvestre, Zukanovic; Alvarez, Barreto, Carbonero, Correa, Fernando, Ivan, Krsticic, Palombo; Cassano, Eder, Muriel, Rodriguez