Luciano Spalletti insists Matteo Politano’s absence mustn’t dent Napoli confidence against his old club Inter, while if Hirving Lozano wants a bigger club, ‘he has to do well here first.’
It kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 GMT.
The news came through that Politano has tested positive for COVID-19, joining Diego Demme in self-isolation, so Lozano will start just days after causing controversy by suggesting he wanted to join a ‘bigger’ club than Napoli.
“Last-minute developments are part of the difficulty of a season, but perhaps you forget we had to change our midfield in the opening two Serie A games because we had no other alternatives,” opened Spalletti in his press conference.
“It’s not a good way of approaching a match to suggest the absence of a player means you will lose or play worse. Our opponents are of the same level, there will be difficulties, but we must always have courage to face them and can’t wait to take on the challenge.
“As for Lozano, it’s natural that everyone has ambitions of growth. I hope at the end of the season, he will receive the interest of clubs that he considers more important than Napoli, because it’ll mean he has done enough with Napoli for us to achieve our objectives.
“Because we didn’t qualify for the Champions League this season, we received zero offers for our players. If they want to get offers, they need to do well here first.
“It’s good that players realise victory gets you visibility, because if the team loses, nobody cares who scored a goal or provided an assist.
“I have options tomorrow for the right side, it can be Lozano, Piotr Zielinski or Eljif Elmas.”
Napoli are the joint Serie A leaders with Milan, while Inter are hanging in there in third place, so this becomes another Scudetto showdown after the Milan Derby.
“Both teams will go for the victory tomorrow because they both need the three points. Inter’s tactical formation is geometrically different to ours, so we need to cover the spaces they will take during possession, because they’re good at putting the ball down the wings. Inter won last season and are doing well with Simone Inzaghi.”
There were reports this week that Spalletti was anxious the Inter fans were going to jeer him, especially as he took the club back into the Champions League only to be fired in order to make way for Antonio Conte.
“People can do whatever they want. I have been jeered and insulted all over the place, but I look at my own work, not that of others. When I leave a club, I look to see if I won a few games and left them with a better balance sheet than before.
“I finished my time at Inter with difficulty dealing with that moment and everything that kept emerging to create problems. I didn’t blame anyone for that fourth place, I just went home because that’s where I was sent.
“Naturally, you have to consider what you can achieve after spending €100m in wages rather than €240m, picking up players who were at Chelsea, Manchester City, accustomed to winning.
“I consider this a game like the others, because I live everything intensely and in the moment. I am curious to see what reaction I get at San Siro, but I want to thank the Inter fans, regardless of the treatment they reserve tomorrow. I also thank the players, as I remain in contact with some of them. I am proud of what I achieved there.”