De Laurentiis backs Allegri, Napoli skip retreat before Frosinone

The club president is giving Massimiliano Allegri no extra pressure despite a difficult September. With Gilmour and Lobotka back from international duty, Napoli meet on Saturday morning to prepare for two matches that carry the weight of a turning point, with Villarreal already on the coach's mind.

by Gennaro SanninoFriday 9 October, 07:09 CET· 2 hours ago

Allegri — Foto: calciomercato.com

Aurelio De Laurentiis has not lost faith in Massimiliano Allegri. Ninth place and a complicated September have not shaken the conviction that he is the right man to manage the post-Conte era. There is no added pressure on the eve of Frosinone, even as Napoli face two games that weigh as much as a turning point in the season.

The usual retreat — the pre-match night away at a hotel — is off this time. There is no transfer on Friday evening; the squad will instead meet on Saturday morning at the Serapide hotel in Pozzuoli. On Thursday the squad was finally back to full strength, with Gilmour and Lobotka returning from international duty. In normal conditions they would have been rested for a round. Instead both will start from the first minute, because there are so few alternatives in midfield that Allegri had to call academy player Riccio, born in 2009, into the first-team group this week.

The number that matters most: seven goals conceded in six games this season across the league and the Champions League, for a record of two wins, one draw and three defeats. Only against Bologna and Genoa has the Napoli goal stayed intact. If Napoli really want to climb the table, this is where it has to start — a team conceding at this rate builds nothing, whatever shape is chosen in attack.

Villarreal is the real crossroads

In Allegri's head, though, the true crossroads is Spain: Napoli need six points from the two Champions League games against Villarreal and Bodø/Glimt to lock down qualification, because there is still time to recover lost ground in the league. That is why the staff will not force Scott McTominay's return. He is training with the group after almost forty days out — his last game was on 30 August — and does not have two matches in three days in his legs yet. There is also the question of medication after his ablation procedure: the final call belongs to the doctors, not just the pitch. Even with the all-clear, McTominay would start Frosinone from the bench, held back for Villarreal.

Up front, David Neres is set to return from the first minute, while Kevin De Bruyne faces a punishing run of games: without the option of Vergara to share the load, the Belgian plays this one too. In attack, the gamble is Lorenzo Lucca starting, with Allegri wanting to keep Rasmus Højlund fresh after four appearances in sixteen days with Denmark, ahead of Tuesday's away trip. Anguissa and Alisson remain unavailable.

Training this week has had a calm feel, with no obsession from the coach. The tension of recent weeks — the draw in Florence, the heated tones at half-time against Bologna at the Maradona — seems, for now, filed away. Supporters, unused to such a modest league position, want only three points at the Maradona on Saturday evening. Spain can wait.