Napoli name team for Villarreal, Anguissa and Olivera out

Allegri leaves out Anguissa, Olivera and Alisson, all due back in training on Wednesday 14 October, with Lobotka and De Bruyne in midfield and Neres, Højlund and Lang up front.

by Gennaro SanninoTuesday 13 October, 19:50 CET· 2 hours ago

Giovane con la maglia del SSC Napoli — Foto: store.sscnapoli.it

Napoli's Champions League trip to Villarreal kicks off at the Estadio de la Cerámica at 21:00 CET on Tuesday 13 October, with Allegri naming Meret in goal behind a back line of Badiashile, Rrahmani and Marín, with Di Lorenzo and Spinazzola as full-backs.

Lobotka and De Bruyne start in central midfield, with Neres, Højlund and Lang completing the attack. De Bruyne and Lang were the two who settled the 3-0 win over Frosinone on Saturday, so Allegri makes no wholesale changes — the side that won last time out returns almost unchanged.

The absences tell their own story. Anguissa is out with a myofascial strain in his right adductor, Olivera is still sidelined by injury, and Alisson is unavailable too. All three are set to return to training on Wednesday 14 October, a day too late for this trip. Favasuli and Vergara are also missing.

It is a heavy list, especially in midfield, where the loss of Anguissa is felt more than any other absence.

On the bench, Allegri has Contini and Milinkovic-Savic as back-up goalkeepers, Beukema and Marianucci in defence, Gilmour and McTominay in midfield, and Lucca, Politano and Giovane in attack. Pereyra is also included, back in the group after a spell with the Under-19s — a detail that shows just how thin the squad is tonight.

Villarreal-Napoli is a Champions League fixture, a competition entirely separate from the Serie A table: only tonight's result and progress in the league phase matter here, not points gained or dropped domestically.