Antonio Conte makes his Serie A comeback on Sunday evening, as new-look Napoli visit Hellas Verona at Stadio Bentegodi.
After making a dismal defence of their title last season, the Partenopei are seeking an upturn under new management, while Verona also have a fresh face in the dugout.
Match preview
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Having finally ended a three-decade title drought and been crowned Italian champions in 2023, Napoli could not come anywhere near replicating such a superb feat last season, with Scudetto-winning coach Luciano Spalletti proving impossible to replace.
Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Calzona all tried and failed to get them back on track, while stars such as Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia looked lost amidst the chaos.
After finishing down in 10th, some 41 points adrift of new champions Inter Milan, club president Aurelio De Laurentiis turned to Calcio's most notorious taskmaster, Antonio Conte.
The ex-Inter Milan boss has set about rebuilding for the upcoming campaign, but Osimhen's future remains up in the air and recruitment has not gone smoothly so far.
Napoli had posted four pre-season wins without conceding a single goal before losing their final friendly to Girona, then they played host to Serie B side Modena in the Coppa Italia last weekend.
Kicking off the Conte era at Stadio Maradona, they dominated possession but failed to score and ultimately required spot kicks to get through, with goalkeeper Alex Meret proving the saviour by stopping two penalties.
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While his opposite number boasts a staggering Serie A win-rate of 68%, new Verona coach Paolo Zanetti has performed far more moderately in previous posts, at Venezia and Empoli.
Only victory on the penultimate matchday allowed the Scaligeri to celebrate securing their Serie A status last season, setting up a fifth straight top-flight campaign for 2024-25.
Former boss Marco Baroni turned things around after bringing in several recruits during the January transfer window, as Verona added 20 points to their tally from then on - more than any other team inside the bottom half of the table.
However, he left for Lazio earlier this summer, so Zanetti has been tasked with keeping the Gialloblu faithful content in the months ahead.
After a series of pre-season wins against modest opposition, his team's first competitive outing ended in failure - a humbling 2-1 home loss to Cesena in the Coppa Italia.
Now, they must pit their wits against Napoli, who are unbeaten in 13 of the clubs' last 14 league meetings; Verona's sole success during that time came back in January 2021, a 3-1 win at the Bentegodi.
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Team News
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Star striker Victor Osimhen remains with Napoli for now but is not taking part in training and will play no part this weekend; however, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is set to stay and should start.
The latter has scored four times in as many matches against Verona, including his first ever Serie A goal - at Stadio Bentegodi, on the first matchday of the 2022-23 season.
Another key cog in the Scudetto-winning machine, Piotr Zielinski has left for Inter, but Italy defender Alessandro Buongiorno was acquired from Torino to help shore up the Partenopei's back line: Antonio Conte employed his favoured three-man defence against Modena and will do the same on Sunday.
In Osimhen's absence, Giacomo Raspadori, Giovanni Simeone and Walid Cheddira will fight it out to feature up front for the visitors, who saw loanee Michael Folorunsho enjoy a successful season in Verona before making it into Luciano Spalletti's Euros squad.
He has now returned to his parent club, and Hellas have also lost Juan Cabal to Juventus, while Dutch striker Tijjani Noslin followed Marco Baroni to Lazio.
Jackson Tchatchoua and Suat Serdar have made their loan deals permanent and will be involved on Sunday evening, when either Daniel Mosquera or Casper Tengstedt could make their first Serie A start up front.
However, Argentinian forward Juan Manuel Cruz will not be available for the foreseeable future, having undergone surgery after sustaining a serious thigh injury.
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Tchatchoua, Coppola, Magnani, Frese; Serdar, Duda; Suslov, Kastanos, Lazovic; Tengstedt
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno; Mazzocchi, Lobotka, Anguissa, Spinazzola; Politano, Kvaratskhelia; Simeone
We say: Hellas Verona 0-1 Napoli
Napoli have won their last seven matches on matchday one of the Serie A season - already a club record - and that streak can continue at Verona's expense.
The home side were beaten by Serie B opposition in the Coppa Italia last week, while their visitors should now be getting to grips with Antonio Conte's demands.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
