Conte warning for Napoli: ‘Second is just first place for losers’

Antonio Conte insists ‘second place is just first place for losers’ and he hasn’t lost hope of catching Inter, but explains why Napoli tactics against Lazio today are forced by one injury.

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It kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at 17.00 UK time (18.00 CEST).

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

The injury crisis continues, as although Amir Rrahmani returns to the bench, Napoli are still without Romelu Lukaku, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, David Neres and Antonio Vergara.

Sam Beukema is preferred to Juan Jesus, who made some costly errors last week against Parma, but also means not all three centre-backs are left-footed.

Conte explains Napoli tactical choices

“It is a technical decision, nothing in particular. It is only right that players alternate during the season, as Amir Rrahmani and Giovanni Di Lorenzo are not ready yet, so it’s important to have options to choose from,” explained Conte on DAZN Italia.

Kevin De Bruyne and Scott McTominay are currently used in support of Rasmus Hojlund, with a 3-4-2-1 formation.

“The system depends exclusively on the fact we don’t have a full-back available at the moment. Without Di Lorenzo, it’s tough to think of a different system. Besides, this tactic allowed us to recover during an emergency situation, I don’t see why I should make radical changes right now.

“Inevitably, Di Lorenzo’s injury is damaging, because he can play in a back three, as a full-back, or as a wing-back. He played practically constantly, had this knee injury, and there’s nobody else with his characteristics in the squad.

“We’ll also see about tactics when Vergara recovers and is available.”

The Partenopei know that last week’s 1-1 draw with Parma practically ended their Scudetto hopes, especially with Inter winning 3-0 against Cagliari last night to go temporarily 12 points clear.

They also need to look over their shoulders now to lock down second place and Champions League qualification, having already won the Supercoppa Italiana.

“Second place is the first place for losers, so I’m not sure that second or third changes much, it’s just about who qualifies for the Champions League,” smiled Conte bitterly.

“We are currently 12 points off Inter, we saw full well against Parma that we cannot make any mistakes, or we lose two points. Our objective is to do our best, trying to look forward, but also keep an eye on those behind us, because one or two slip-ups can change a great deal.”

There has been a lot of talk around the future of coach Conte, who has not ruled himself out of the running for a return to the Italy bench.