Two matches on the field and one virtual one. The ninth day, started yesterday with Udinese and Torino's victories on Cagliari (2-0) and Como (1-0), will continue with Napoli-Lecce (15pm) e Atalanta - Verona (20.45), while Bologna-Milan, originally scheduled for 18pm, it won't be played, or at least not before a few months. For Conte and Gasperini it is an excellent chance to extend their lead in the standings and thus enjoy the Sunday races without too many worries, Inter-Juventus above all. Lecce and Verona, in fact, do not appear to be insurmountable obstacles, provided that we do not underestimate them too much.
Bad weather stops Bologna – Milan: postponed to a date to be determined
Let's start first with the off-field news, therefore with the postponement of Bologna-Milan. The decision had already been taken on Thursday by the mayor Matthew Lepore, by virtue of thebad weather emergency which has been plaguing the Emilian city for several days, but the Serie A League tried to oppose in every way, first by leveraging the Prefect Visconti, then Saputo's club, so that the match would be played behind closed doors, or on neutral ground. Milan, as confirmed by president Scaroni, did not want the postponement, also because this would entail Theo Hernandez and Reijnders' suspensions postponed to Tuesday evening, the day of the big match against Napoli, but in the end he had to surrender to the will of the majority. The summit between the Mayor and the Prefect reiterated the impossibility of playing at the Dall'Ara with and without fans, given that the stadium's neighborhood is one of the most affected by bad weather. Then they moved on to plan B, that is, finding another city to host the match, obviously behind closed doors in light of the short time to organize a ticket sale. Initially, Como was considered, then Empoli was chosen, but in both cases there were too many problems, in addition to the opposition of Bologna, determined to protect the fans already in possession of the ticket (and the related proceeds). In the end, the parties had to accept the postponement to a date to be determined., with the knowledge that finding a day will not be easy at all, given that the Rossoneri and the Rossoblu are busy in both the Champions League and the Coppa Italia. If both teams were to advance in their respective competitions (a difficult hypothesis, but not impossible), it would go as far as April, in the hope that no other unexpected events will happen from now on.
Napoli – Lecce (15pm, Dazn)
The Maradona challenge, however, will be played regularly, with Napoli determined to take the fourth consecutive championship victory at the expense of a Lecce in great difficulty. On paper, today more than ever, the Azzurri start as favorites: they would have been even if the Apulians were going through a good moment of form, let alone now that they occupy the penultimate place in the standings and are coming off three defeats in a row, the last with a humiliating 0-6 against Fiorentina. Tale but he hates this reasoning and has made it clear in his own way in the latest press conferences, in an attempt to calm down an increasingly excited crowd. Let's say right away that he hasn't succeeded, given that Napoli already sees itself at +5 on Inter, in the hope of staying there (or at least extending a bit) tomorrow after the match with Juve. But be careful not to take everything for granted, given that last Sunday was supposed to be an "easy" match and instead Empoli proved to be a very tough nut to crack. Conte believes it is mainly a question of pressure and it probably is, furthermore Kvaratskhelia and Lukaku, albeit for different reasons, are not going through their best moment. For the Belgian it is mainly a problem of form, while the Georgian is troubled by the well-known contractual issues: it is no coincidence that the coach seems inclined to leave him out, giving space to the overflowing Neres (but here the turnover in view of Milan also comes into play).
Conte: "Inter-Juve doesn't interest me, let's think about Lecce! Kvara? Stay focused"
"This must be the match that allows us to gain points that can be useful when there are difficulties, I'm not interested in Inter-Juve - explained Conte -. We want to provide continuity, even if some are waiting for the big matches to see us in difficulty. I respect many opinions, but only those who have never won can say such nonsense, I hear a lot of it around. Those who have won know what needs to be done to return to winning and build solid and lasting foundations. Lukaku? In Empoli we were all inadequate in the first half, then in the second half the attitude changed. It would be limiting to dwell on Romelu, I saw him calm and serene, there are no problems of any kind regarding his management. The renewal of Kvaratskhelia? It has been talked about for a while, there is certainly a discussion between the club and his entourage and it is not my responsibility. What I ask of him is to continue to be focused on the season, he is a serious guy and an exemplary professional. Then I hope that things can be fixed but I know that in football anything can happen, but whether an agreement is reached or not he must be totally focused”.
Napoli – Lecce, probable formations
Naples (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Olivera; Anguissa, Gilmour, McTominay; Ngonge, Lukaku, Neres
On the bench: Caprile, Contini, Turi, Juan Jesus, Spinazzola, Marin, Mazzocchi, Folorunsho, Politano, Zerbin, Kvaratskhelia, Raspadori, Simeone
Coach: Conte
Unavailable: Lobotka
Disqualified: none
Lecce (4-3-3): Falcone; Pelmard, Gaspar, Baschirotto, Dorgu; Ramadani, Pierret, Coulibaly; Dying, Krstovic, Banda
On the bench: Fruchtl, Samooja, Borbei, Jean, Rafia, McJannet, Kaba, Guilbert, Oudin, Pierotti, Rebic, Sansone
Coach: Gotti
Unavailable: Berisha, Bonifazi, Burnete, Hasa, Marchwinski
Disqualified: Gallo
