Rosenior warning for Chelsea about ‘very strong’ Napoli under ‘amazing’ Conte

Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior insists even a decimated Napoli remains ‘a very strong team’ under ‘amazing’ Antonio Conte, and he is expecting ‘an exciting game’ in the Champions League.

It kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).

Enzo Maresca was the Chelsea coach until the surprising split on January 1, following in the footsteps of other former Stamford Bridge Italian bosses like Carlo Ancelotti and tomorrow’s opponent Conte.

“Huge respect for him, firstly as a player, he was a magnificent footballer,” said Rosenior in his press conference when asked about Conte.

“He then went on to have an incredible and still has an incredible career as a coach. I think his passion as a player transmits to the passion in his teams and obviously when I was younger watching Chelsea play in the manner that they did, defensively so strong.

“He’s gone on to prove what an amazing manager he is and he’s won many titles, including an incredible title here last year.”

Conte is the last manager to win the Premier League title at Chelsea and that was nine years ago.

Meanwhile, he is fresh off the Serie A trophy last season, and currently struggling with an epic injury crisis.

“This is a very strong team. I think it would have been unfortunate in the recent games that they played,” noted Rosenior.

“The results haven’t followed the performances that Antonio’s team have given. We know it’s going to be a very difficult game in a very special atmosphere. It doesn’t change my plans at all because I’ve been planning for a very difficult game.”

Napoli risk early elimination from the Champions League after scraping just two wins, two draws, and three defeats.

“In football, in the Champions League, in Serie A, in the Premier League, you can never expect anything. The competition level is so high. Napoli are a great team. They proved that last year with a fantastic title,” noted Rosenior.

“When they have outstanding individual players, they have a world-class coach. They’re still in the position where they can get through. We’re aware of that. I think it will make for an exciting game because Napoli have to win. Also, for us to have a realistic chance of the top eight, we also need to win.”

There are important developments for the Blues, as Cole Palmer returns to the squad after missing their wins over Pafos and Crystal Palace with a thigh issue.

Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen is also available, but Romeo Lavia has stayed behind to work on his fitness after a long injury lay-off, with Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo and Dario Essugo.

There has been some speculation on Cole’s future at Chelsea, so Rosenior took the opportunity to reassure fans there was “no reason to have the conversation” about a possible exit.

Chelsea squad for Napoli: Jorgensen, Sanchez, Bernal, Merrick; Acheampong, Badiashile, Chalobah, Cucurella, Fofana, Malo Gusto, Hato, James; Caicedo, Fernandez, Andrey Santos; Delap, Garnacho, George, Gittens, Guiu, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro, Palmer, Estevao