Luciano Spalletti explains his tactical and personnel choices for Napoli as they take on Sampdoria and insists being top of the table must not be ‘an obsession.’
It kicks off at 17.30 UK time (16.30 GMT), you can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s three Serie A games on the LIVEBLOG.
Piotr Zielinski returns to the starting XI in midfield for a 4-3-3 formation, as the Poland international has struggled so far this season with fitness issues.
“Zielinski is a player with quality, stamina, technique and a long-range shot. He’s a complete player. The Euros took away some of his match fitness and we hope he can be back to full shape,” the coach told DAZN before kick-off.”
This also allows for Chucky Lozano to start upfront in the trident, rather than the 4-2-3-1 formation that Spalletti had started with.
“I have this variety of options available to me. Lozano scored a great goal and it didn’t seem right not to give him some consistency on the field. Plus with five substitutions, you can give everyone a chance.”
Napoli need a victory to remain sole Serie A leaders, as they are the only side remaining with a 100 per cent record.
“We know that in order to stay near the top of the table, we must attack every game, try to bring home the maximum points, but without having an obsession about being leaders. That’s not the issue, we just have to take it one game at a time.”
https://t.co/vK3FqsMMIi Spalletti: “Zielinski calciatore completo, vogliamo dare continuità a Lozano. Primato? Non è un’ossessione, vogliamo sempre vincere”
— CalcioNapoli24.it (@CalcioNapoli24) September 23, 2021