Coach Maurizio Sarri and owner Aurelio De Laurentiis reportedly don’t see eye to eye due to former’s snub of major summer signings. PHOTO: AFP
All eyes will be on Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri’s starting line-up when they host Inter Milan at the Stadio San Paolo tonight in Italian Serie A.
Rumours of friction between Sarri and club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis over a lack of playing time for summer signings Lorenzo Tonelli, Marko Rog and Nikola Maksimovic arose during the midweek, with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting that the pair are at odds over Sarri’s preference of Vlad Chiriches in particular over Maksimovic.
It remains to be seen whether Sarri would give in to the owner’s wishes or stick with the line-up that has won just once in their last six matches in all competition.
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A bigger worry for Sarri would be to sort out his team’s record at home where his charges have drawn in all of their last three outings.
In the opposing corner will be an Inter side that must have been buoyed by their 4-2 win over Fiorentina in their last fixture.
The Nerazzurri opened their victories account under new manager Stefano Piolo in his third match in charge following a 2-2 draw with rivals AC Milan and a 3-2 away defeat in Europe to Hapoel Beer Sheva.
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Despite Napoli’s home troubles, the odds are firmly stacked against Inter as the away side hasn’t triumphed in this league fixture since 2011 when Napoli thrashed Inter 3-0 away at San Siro.
Inter did, however, beat Napoli 2-0 on their own turf in a Coppa Italia clash earlier this year, and will be hoping to replicate that performance.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2016.
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