Landucci faces Monza again as Allegri serves his touchline ban

Marco Landucci has stood in for Massimiliano Allegri about ten times, in Serie A and the Coppa Italia (Italy's cup competition), during their years at Cagliari, Milan and Juventus. He has won seven of those games and lost three. He has never drawn.

The reason he is in charge is already well known. Allegri was sent off late in the game against Roma and banned for two matches for "disrespectful expressions". He chose not to appeal, and closed the matter with: "Maybe instead of two games I'll get four." That means Landucci is on the bench on Wednesday and again against Juventus on Sunday 1 November.

Let's be clear: Landucci's 7-3 record is a curiosity, not a guarantee. It comes from other teams and other seasons. And Napoli's problem has nothing to do with who stands in front of the dugout.

We have conceded 17 goals in 11 games across Serie A and the Champions League, seven of them in the last three, against Villarreal, Venezia and Roma. On Saturday, McTominay's goal in the 48th minute made it 2-0 and the game looked over. Then Soulé scored in the 69th minute and Balerdi in the 74th. McTominay restored the lead at 3-2 in the 83rd, and Balerdi scored again in the 89th.

A team that gets pegged back twice in the same half has a problem with its system. On Wednesday that system is still Allegri's, even without Allegri.

Monza, the table and a defence to rebuild

Juric's Monza are 15th on 7 points and have lost five of their eight games. Napoli are 10th on 11, the worst start since 2009-10. Como are fourth on 20, so we are nine points off the place the club has named as its target. With this squad and in this position, a draw in Brianza (Monza's home area) would not be half a step forward. It would be one more evening to explain.

Landucci has to reorganise the defence without three players. Badiashile has a medium-grade lesion in his right rectus femoris. Spinazzola has a low-grade lesion in his right biceps femoris. Buongiorno has had meniscus surgery and is expected back in January.

Rrahmani has recovered from the flu that kept him out against Roma and should partner Rafa Marín at centre-back. Di Lorenzo is still carrying the knee contusion he picked up in the 4-3 against Bodø/Glimt, which forced him off in the second half on Saturday.

Maybe instead of two games I'll get four.

Either way, Wednesday's result leaves an awkward question. If the team plays better under Landucci, the debate about Allegri, already heated in the city, will get louder. If it goes badly, some will call the coach's absence a mitigating factor.

Both camps would be wrong. The same players take the field, prepared by the same staff, with the same weaknesses we saw against Roma.

After Monza and Juventus, Napoli face Porto in the Champions League on 4 November. Allegri returns on 8 November at the Maradona against Lazio, and he will inherit whatever Landucci has taken from these two games.