Napoli go with makeshift midfield trio against Arsenal

Napoli host Arsenal at the Maradona on Wednesday 9 September, kick-off 21:00 CET, with the midfield reshaped by two heavy absences. McTominay is out after undergoing cardiac ablation surgery this morning, and Anguissa failed a fitness test following the fatigue he felt at San Siro. That leaves Allegri with four midfielders to choose from: Gilmour, De Bruyne, Vergara and Lobotka.

It's a return to the starting eleven for the Belgian after being benched at San Siro. This time he shares the number 8 role not with Vergara but with Gilmour, brought in to cover for Anguissa. Handing the team's first Champions League game of the season — and the first without Conte on the bench — to a midfield trio with no prior minutes together, against last season's Champions League runners-up, is the choice of a coach with no alternatives left in that department.

Defence unchanged at the back, a surprise up front

In front of Meret, the central pairing stays the same: Rrahmani and Marín, as against Inter. The change comes on the left, where Olivera is set to win the battle with Spinazzola, completing the back four alongside Di Lorenzo on the right. The surprise in the front three is Alisson Santos, picked ahead of Noa Lang on the wing: Allegri is banking on the Brazilian's pace to attack the space behind Arteta's back line. Politano completes the attack, with Neres — whose involvement was already in doubt after Allegri's own comments in today's press conference — dropping out of the starting eleven.

The eleven set to line up is a 4-3-3: Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marín, Olivera; Gilmour, Lobotka, De Bruyne; Politano, Højlund, Alisson.

It remains to be seen whether a midfield assembled at the last minute and a winger thrown in as a surprise choice add unpredictability or strip solidity from a defence that has conceded five goals in its last two matches — the 1-2 home defeat to Como and the 3-2 collapse at San Siro — as many as Napoli have scored in Serie A so far this season. Arsenal, finalists in last season's Champions League, arrive without Saliba, sidelined by a back problem, and with doubts over Timber and Mosquera. Kick-off is at 21:00 at the Maradona.