Oriali on Napoli emergency, ‘ingenious’ Conte and Raspadori report

Napoli team manager Lele Oriali warns ‘ingenious’ Antonio Conte had few alternatives with new injuries against Verona, while he refuses to comment on Giacomo Raspadori reports.

It kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at 17.30 GMT (18.30 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s five Serie A games on the Liveblog.

While the Partenopei have barely made any changes to their starting XI in recent weeks due to a lack of alternatives, Antonio Conte was rather forced to bring in Noa Lang after David Neres sprained his ankle.

Pasquale Mazzocchi is also suspended following the fiery win over Lazio, but rotation is kept to a minimum even with the Scudetto showdown against Inter coming up on Sunday.

“We need to focus on tonight’s game and we don’t have many options to rotate, as you can see from the squad list, there are more at home than on the bench,” Oriali told DAZN Italia.

“Someone has to play, there are few alternatives, so we’ll hopefully be able to make calculations more later on in the season, such as Frank Anguissa in a few weeks, and can therefore give rest to those who kept us going.”

David Neres had emerged as a crucial player following the injuries in midfield and change of tactics, but he is out today with an ankle issue.

“I think it’s reductive to give credit only to Neres, as it was the squad and obviously the ingenious coach who managed to find a new shape among difficulties,” continued Oriali.

“In the moment of difficulty, he kept everyone together, we became more united, had a greater team spirit, and this helped us through the injury crisis. We hope that is coming to an end soon, although two are long-term and we’re not sure when they can be back.”

The transfer window is now open and Napoli are reported to be in discussions for the loan of Lorenzo Lucca to Benfica, after he struggled to earn playing time at the Stadio Maradona.

There were also rumours today that he could be handed over to Roma in exchange for Artem Dovbyk.

A new rumour suggested Giacomo Raspadori could return to Napoli too, amid Roma and Lazio talk, just six months after moving to Atletico Madrid.

“You’ve been here, you know full well there are specific roles, but it is not my area to talk about the transfer market. You’d have to ask our director of sport,” replied Oriali.

“I know what our interests are, but others will be able to comment. These are important players, talented ones, and we hope to see them all in action in Serie A for the good of the Nazionale.”