Maurizio Sarri insists “Napoli are not favourites against Roma” and criticised Gonzalo Higuain’s “attitude.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“Our victory over Legia Warsaw was important against a side seeking qualification and the fact we won was a show of maturity. I still can’t swallow conceding a goal at the last minute, though,” said the Coach in a Press conference.
Maurizio Sarri insists “Napoli are not favourites against Roma” and criticised Gonzalo Higuain’s “attitude.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“Our victory over Legia Warsaw was important against a side seeking qualification and the fact we won was a show of maturity. I still can’t swallow conceding a goal at the last minute, though,” said the Coach in a Press conference.
There is a bitter rivalry between these clubs and the Derby del Sole has become increasingly tense in recent years.
“Who said we are the favourites? I don’t think my team feels itself to be the favourite tomorrow. In football you can win in 2,000 different ways, at times without spending much, but usually it’s the club that spends the most money.
“Roma are a side made up of important players and at this moment have invested more than any other club in Italy. Therefore they are the favourites.
“They are the natural antagonists to Juventus for the Scudetto and we cannot talk about them as a team in crisis. Injuries undoubtedly affected them.
“We do not care about the table. I know that for Neapolitans this is a very special match and we want to make our fans happy. For them it’s the most important game of the year and we will play with heart.
“This is a unique event and the team will be swept up by the atmosphere in the city. I am leaving aside violent incidents of the past, I’m just talking about sporting rivalry on the pitch.”
Napoli lost just one of their last 20 competitive matches, a 3-2 at Bologna last week, but Sarri is never satisfied even with his top star.
“I told Higuain to his face that I didn’t like his attitude in Bologna and he’d done some negative things. He can still improve. Who is better out of Higuain and Edin Dzeko? I’ll keep Gonzalo. They are two great centre-forwards and there’s always the possibility they can decide the match.
“The defensive line made mistakes because it was under more pressure than before and that’s down to the rest of the team performance. The defence merely paid the consequences of that. We are a team who do not win if we play badly, we just don’t have the characteristics to do that.
“We moved to a 4-3-3 system for a particular reason, but I am keeping that to myself. It would mean discussing the limitations of my players and I don’t want to do that.
“Lorenzo Insigne can play as a trequartista, but with the 4-3-3 we resolved several problems.”
Sarri again complained that the Europa League sides have to play on Thursday and again three days later.
“The teams most penalised by the fixture list are those taking part in the Europa League. Not once have we been given an extra day to rest. Napoli, Lazio and Fiorentina are the most penalised.”
Roma and Juventus had their Serie A games brought forward by one day to better prepare for the Champions League.