Conte irritation at new change of Napoli tactics after injuries | OneFootball

Antonio Conte expresses his irritation at being forced to change tactical system again when Napoli visit Lazio. ‘We try to find the best outfit to suit the characteristics of these players.’

It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 17.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game, Atalanta-Cagliari and Milan-Verona on the Liveblog.

David Neres is out injured for several weeks, joining Leonardo Spinazzola and Mathias Olivera on the treatment table, so there is a change of tactics to 3-5-2 with Giacomo Raspadori partnering Romelu Lukaku.

The good news is the return of Alessandro Buongiorno for his first game of 2025 after suffering a back injury in training.

“It is very difficult for a coach to work on a system. Since the start of the season, for many reasons, we started with one idea of the 3-4-2-1, then got to the 4-3-3 changing the movements and mechanisms,” Conte told DAZN.

The coach has hinted many times at his frustration getting Scott McTominay and Lukaku only right at the end of the summer transfer period, when the season had already started.

“These changes were to get the best out of the characteristics of the players that the club puts at your disposal. Then for a period we had a sort of 4-2-2-2, until we reached the 4-3-3 with these very wide men that in my view was the right outfit for Napoli.

“Today, that becomes difficult because we are missing players, so clearly we need to not invent something new, but try to find the best outfit for the current side to suit the characteristics of these players.”

Conte dealing with a changing Napoli squad

BERGAMO, ITALY – JANUARY 18: Antonio Conte, Head Coach of Napoli, gives the team instructions during the Serie A match between Atalanta and Napoli at Gewiss Stadium on January 18, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

With the departure of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain, Conte found with the Neres injury that he was short on wingers.

These sides already met twice in the space of a few days in December, as first Lazio won 3-1 in the Coppa Italia Round of 16, then took a 1-0 victory at the Stadio Maradona in Serie A. Can the new tactics also help counter their strengths?

“You only change system for a good reason because you are forced to, not just to suit the opponents, so that has nothing to do with it,” replied Conte.

“Having said that, Lazio beat us twice, so they deserve credit for that, we worked all week to try to get this new system working.”

The pressure is on the Partenopei now, as back-to-back 1-1 draws against Roma and Udinese have seen the gap at the top of the table whittled down to just one point.