Napoli-Roma still on as authorities watch Saturday's protest in Naples

Naples will hold a general demonstration against the cost of living and fuel prices on Saturday 24 October. On the same day Napoli play Roma at the Diego Armando Maradona, with kick-off at 18:00 CET (17:00 UK, 12:00 ET).

The protest began with the hauliers, who set up blockades on the motorways and at the entrances to ports and refineries. Within a few days it had reached the city centre, with demonstrations, some of them spontaneous, in support of shopkeepers, farmers and students.

The effects are already visible: petrol stations closed and empty shelves in the city's supermarkets. Over the past few hours shopkeepers in Barra and Ponticelli have pulled down their shutters and occupied several road junctions. Student groups have occupied the Porta di Massa site of the Federico II University.

The problem is getting to Fuorigrotta

Logistics are the sticking point. Local public transport has already been halved by the fuel shortage. If the roads stay gridlocked and protesters gather at the same time as supporters head for Fuorigrotta, the district around the stadium, managing the flow of fans and keeping everyone safe becomes a real problem for the people who have to decide. No decisions have been taken so far. The authorities are simply monitoring the situation.

We will say it plainly: this week the city comes before the match. Dry petrol pumps, shops closed in protest and an occupied university are not an inconvenience to work around so you make kick-off. They reflect a tension that anyone who lives in Naples knows well. As for the measures that might follow, the right thing is to wait for official guidance and not feed alarm.

What is at stake on the pitch

The sporting weight of Saturday has not changed. Napoli-Roma is matchday 8. It is also the second of the two tests the club has tied to Allegri's future, after the nervy 4-3 against Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League.

Napoli are ninth with 10 points from seven games. Roma are third on 17, seven points clear, and arrive without Koné and Pellegrini, with Dybala a doubt. The fanbase is already split over the coach. A match played in a city at a standstill, with a stadium that may be hard to reach, would add more uncertainty to a week that has little certainty left.

Anyone who cannot travel can watch the match free on DAZN, which only requires registration. For those holding a ticket, the next 48 hours matter more than any team sheet. In that time the authorities will decide whether Saturday's 18:00 kick-off goes ahead as planned or under restrictions that, so far, nobody has put in writing.