Napoli plan more changes for Venezia with Lucca in, De Bruyne and Højlund set to rest

Four days after the 3-1 defeat at Villarreal, Allegri is weighing another shake-up for Saturday's trip to the Penzo — this time touching two first-choice players as well as the backup attack.

by Gennaro SanninoThursday 15 October, 14:10 CET· 2 hours ago

Lorenzo Lucca — Foto: Original: Giova36 / Derivative work: Danyele · CC BY-SA 4.0

Changing formation did not fix things against Frosinone, so for Saturday's trip to the Penzo, Allegri is preparing another reshuffle of his starting eleven. This time it is not just the backup attack under discussion: the plan also touches two of the squad's certainties, De Bruyne and Højlund, who could both start on the bench against Venezia.

Olivera, Anguissa and Alisson Santos are back in training after recovering from injury, but their return is more about rebuilding rotation options for a packed schedule — nine matches in a month — than an immediate starting shirt. All three will most likely start Saturday's game from the bench.

Changes across every department

In goal, Meret returns in place of Milinković-Savić, who started against Frosinone. In defence, Beukema or Marianucci could replace Rafa Marín, who came out of the Villarreal game against his former club in poor shape. On the flanks, Spinazzola returns on the left, while on the right it is a contest between Politano and Di Lorenzo.

The biggest change is in midfield: De Bruyne is set for the bench, with Lobotka and McTominay sharing midfield duties. Up front, Lang is pushing for a starting shirt, and above all, the opportunity Lucca has waited weeks for is opening up: he has disappointed so far, but Allegri is considering giving him his first start right there in the lagoon.

A rest for Højlund was already in Allegri's plans: the Dane arrives off four games with his national team and two straight starts, against Frosinone and Villarreal. The head coach had pencilled in a break for him, and the match against the division's bottom side — Venezia, stuck on zero points after six rounds and with Davide Nicola only just arrived as coach — looks like the right moment to grant it.

A signal after Villarreal?

What remains to be seen is how much this decision is also about sending a signal after the collapse at Villarreal: resting the striker and the playmaker who had driven the win over Frosinone at the same time is not just any rotation. Allegri will decide in the coming days, with the line-up only taking shape close to kick-off at 15:00 CET on Saturday at the Penzo.