Antonio Conte insists Napoli are ‘concentrated’ on the Verona game and not affected by the negative energy of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s demand to leave.
It kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at 19.45 GMT.
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s four Serie A games on the Liveblog.
The last 48 hours have been dominated by the controversy around Kvaratskhelia, as Conte announced in a press conference that the Georgia international had asked to leave during the January transfer window.
It is a heavy blow for the Partenopei, who had been negotiating a contract extension for months, but while Liverpool are also interested, his destination would appear to be Paris Saint-Germain.
“We need to stay concentrated on the pitch and not transfer anything else to the players or those around us. We worked well, I saw the team focused and we were able to prepare for this match,” Conte told DAZN.
Conte shrugs off Napoli tension
Verona beat Napoli 3-0 in the opening round of the Serie A season, but now the Partenopei are top of the table.
“Hellas are a very physical side, they have a good trident attack and clearly we need to be very careful. They have pace, attack the space and are a team to be feared. They usually stop their opponents from playing well and we’ll try to get through that.”
David Neres has improved in recent weeks and effectively replaces Kvaratskhelia on that left flank, not just during injury, but on a permanent basis.
Conte reiterates that he does not just have a first choice XI, but that players can earn their position in the line-up.
“In the past we had to do without important players like Lobotka, where Gilmour replaced him well, while Buongiorno is considered a great defender and Juan Jesus is covering him well. Now this happened with Kvara, everyone has to be ready to step up when needed,” concluded the coach.
“The same is true of Leonardo Spinazzola, all the lads are ready and giving us what we need.”
Napoli have been active in the January window already, sending Michael Folorunsho to Fiorentina on loan with option to buy and bringing in Philip Billing from Bournemouth with a similar formula.
