Napoli go to Porto with 13 men and the papers ask who answers for it

Porto v Napoli kicks off on Wednesday 4 November at 21:00 CET (20:00 UK, 15:00 ET) at the Estádio do Dragão. Wednesday's papers, though, are mostly about the players who will not be there.

Thirteen men and a makeshift side

La Gazzetta dello Sport and Il Corriere dello Sport write almost the same thing about the crisis. La Gazzetta says Napoli go to Porto "with 13". It points to three defeats in the last six games and a defence that has never played together. It also notes that the referee is Oliver, who will remind Allegri of Real-Juve in 2018.

Il Corriere dello Sport describes Allegri with 13 men, three options on the bench, two youth-team players from the Primavera (the under-20 side) and Lang in an unfamiliar role, with De Bruyne likely to start on the bench. Sky Sport says much the same: a 3-5-2, Gilmour in for De Bruyne, and Højlund back fit alongside Giovane.

Il Mattino has the worst news for the coming days. Di Lorenzo has an adductor problem, and the paper expects him to be out for about two weeks. So the captain would miss more than just Wednesday's game.

La Gazzetta also contradicts itself. The same paper that describes a side without its first-choice players calls the game a "play-off". You can raise the stakes or you can say the players are missing. Doing both only sets up the inquest on Thursday 5 November.

Politano points at attitude

Politano, the vice-captain, spoke to Sky Sport and did not blame bad luck. He talked about attitude, asked the whole squad for pride and admitted the defence is letting the team down.

"A team like Napoli cannot be left in this state."

Coming from a player on the eve of a Champions League game, that is not a stock line.

Questions for the board

La Repubblica is the only paper to turn to the club itself. It reports that Aurelio De Laurentiis asked Giovanni Manna and Massimiliano Allegri to explain the full treatment room, and that the coach had two angry outbursts before the team left for Porto.

Repubblica also tells an earlier story. After the defeat at Venezia, it says, the president threatened a punitive ritiro (keeping the squad locked away at a training camp) and then dropped the idea. According to the paper, Giovanni Manna was the one who talked him out of it.

The same paper picks up two signals that point in opposite directions. Talk of a possible sale to the Rizzetta fund is growing. Over the same days, De Laurentiis is booking the land for the training centre. People who are selling do not usually book land, and people who are building do not usually let sale rumours grow.

Il Corriere dello Sport is already looking ahead to Sunday's Napoli-Lazio at the Maradona. The away section looks set to be closed, though this has not been confirmed. The paper says both Curvas (the home ends behind the goals) have already sold out in pre-sale.

Our view

The papers cover the injury crisis well, but they risk making it the only explanation. The injured players did not lose the second half in Turin, and on Wednesday the only person saying so plainly is Politano, not an editorial. Calling a game a "play-off" when Napoli are starting youth-team players only sets up the inquest. What fans really need to know is why this squad keeps breaking down.

If Repubblica is right, the question De Laurentiis put to Giovanni Manna and Allegri is the right one. But supporters deserve to hear the answer in public, not through leaks.