Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti said Sunday’s opponents Roma ‘will never be my enemy’ but stressed the Partenopei will ‘try to win’ the direct clash in the battle for the top in Serie A.

The Partenopei travel to the Italian capital for the ninth round in Serie A, having won all the previous eight games in the league.

Spalletti has a past at Roma and helped the Giallorossi finish third in the league during his first six months at the club in 2015-16, before leading La Lupa to second behind Juventus in 2016-17.

He then moved to rivals Inter and returned after a break at Napoli ahead of the current campaign, now ready to face the Giallorossi at the Olimpico.

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“Tomorrow we have a direct clash in the battle for the top and all of those who work in football would like to be in this situation,” Spalletti said at a press conference.

“It [the battle] will remain intact throughout the year, there will be no one excluded first. Everyone will remain hooked on the possibility of reaching the Champions League, everyone’s real goal.

“The rest, we will talk about along the way.”

Spalletti stressed that the game against the Gialloross will ‘never be a match against an enemy’ but vowed to give everything to beat them.

“In general, one must not live in vain,” he said. “I have understood one thing about myself after many years in this profession.

“To be happy as a coach, I need places with strong moods. Roma-Napoli is my match, but this will never be a match against an enemy.

“They are two exciting experiences in my story, it’s a challenge between two parts of me. There’s no past to defeat as far as I’m concerned, but a very important match for the future of Napoli and we will try to win.

“Of course, tomorrow I will be all for Napoli, but Roma will never be my enemy.”

Napoli are first in Serie A with eight wins in eight games ahead of the trip to the Olimpico, while Roma are aiming to bounce back from back-to-back defeats, including the heavy 6-1 loss to Bodo/Glimt in the Conference League on Thursday.

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