Antonio Conte says he needs Napoli to bounce again from defeat with the identical response as they’d from a win forward of their journey to Udinese.
A 1-0 defeat final Sunday to Lazio, who additionally knocked Napoli out of the Coppa Italia three days earlier than, noticed Conte’s facet lose their place on the high of Serie A, leaving them two factors behind new leaders Atalanta.
Napoli have misplaced their final two video games and haven’t recorded three defeats in a row in all competitions since November and December 2023 (defeat within the Champions League v Actual Madrid after which in Serie A v Inter and Juventus).
Nevertheless, Udinese’s final win in opposition to Napoli in Serie A got here again in April 2016, successful 3-1 at residence; since then, the Partneopei have received 13 and drawn three of their 16 league conferences in opposition to them.
Conte was requested what these two Lazio losses have left behind and the way his facet will transfer on from the 2 successive defeats.
“Zero factors and elimination from the Cup, greater than this they can not go away,” Conte informed a press convention.
“We begin once more, at all times in the identical method as if you win, by working, working, working. The mentality should proceed to develop, the falls should assist us reinforce this mentality.
“Tomorrow we’ll see, after a crash, what reply we may have.”
Gli azzurri sono carichi per la trasferta di Udine!
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— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) December 13, 2024
Conte might be with out winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with the Georgian going through a while on the sidelines after struggling a knee sprain, however the supervisor was giving little away about his formation.
“[On Saturday], you’ll see, I haven’t determined who will take to the pitch but,” Conte stated.
“You will note the alternatives and how much contribution everybody will make. We nonetheless have a coaching session within the morning on the resort.
“We try totally different formations, this week we’ve tried many after which we’ll see which one would be the greatest for this group.”
Udinese started the season brightly, with three wins of their opening 4 video games placing them high of the standings, however they’ve since collected simply three wins in 11 and have slipped right down to ninth place.
They did get their first win in six of their most up-to-date recreation at Monza, and Conte is not going to be taking Udinese evenly, regardless of going unbeaten in 11 Serie A video games as a supervisor in opposition to them (W9 D2).
“They began very sturdy, then they slowed down, however they received the final recreation,” Conte stated.
“They’re very sturdy bodily, for years they’ve made these decisions, they go for very bodily, quick, resistant gamers, they’re an excellent group.
“The coach is in his first 12 months right here however he’s doing effectively, we’ll want respect and we must be in one of the best of our situation.”