Conte: ‘Napoli respect Roma and Ranieri, Lobotka is complete’ | OneFootball

Antonio Conte has ‘great respect’ for Roma and new coach Claudio Ranieri, then explains how Napoli change with Stanislav Lobotka in for Billy Gilmour.

It kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at 17.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s five Serie A games on the Liveblog.

“We’re in good shape. Everyone returned after international duty and we are ready for this game,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

This is the debut on the Roma bench for Ranieri, who seems to have immediately moved to a four-man defence, plus Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolò Pisilli bolstering the bond between midfield and attack.

“We need to see what intentions they have during the game. Roma have a lot of quality in the side and also on the bench. We have the utmost respect for Roma and for Claudio, this is a tough game and we’ll see at the end who is happy and who isn’t.”

Conte keeps Napoli focused

NAPLES, ITALY – AUGUST 25: Giovanni Simeone and David Neres of SSC Napoli celebrate their side’s third goal scored by Giovanni Simeone during the Serie match between Napoli and Bologna at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on August 25, 2024 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

It is a real battle at the top of the table this season, as going into the break for international duty Napoli were only one point clear of a gaggle of teams in joint second.

Inter, Atalanta and Fiorentina already won this weekend, so is that extra motivation for the Partenopei?

“Every match must be motivation for us. I always tell the lads not to look at the table and what others are doing. We’ve got to pull the blinkers over our eyes and just focus on what is right ahead of us,” continued Conte.

“We are talking about teams that won the Scudetto last season, won the Europa League being the only side to beat Bayer Leverkusen, so there is a lot of competition. We must realise other teams had more time together and are further ahead in the process, while we are trying to improve one game at a time.”

Lobotka is back in the Napoli starting XI for the first time after 51 days, having picked up an injury while playing for Slovakia, so how do they change with him rather than Gilmour in midfield?

“The big difference is that Lobo is 30 years old and has a lot of experience, he is a complete player. Gilmour is 24 and in my view has great potential, so was a very good signing for Napoli,” concluded Conte.