Napoli boss Antonio Conte could use a back four against Monza today

Napoli manager Antonio Conte could deploy a similar lineup to the one we saw in Turin when his team hosts Monza at the Maradona Stadium on Sunday.

While some thought it was a mere one-off ploy from the manager to mirror Thiago Motta’s Juventus, CalcioNapoli24 believes the four-man backline is here to stay.

The Partnenopei earned a somewhat satisfying draw against their arch-rivals last Saturday, returning home with a valuable point.

Conte then maintained the same 4-2-3-1 shape – albeit with different personnel – in the 5-0 demolition of Palermo in a Coppa Italia tie on Thursday, offering further evidence of a notable tactical revamp.

Therefore, the source expects the former Juventus, Inter and Chelsea manager to keep the same system while adopting an almost similar lineup to the one witnessed last weekend.

This can be deemed as a significant change given that Conte had always maintained a three-man defense since his early days in Turin back in the 2011/12 campaign.

Elia Caprile will fill in for the injured Alex Meret in goal, while Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Alessandro Buogiorno and Mathias Olivera start at the back.

In the middle of the park, Stanislav Lobotka and Frank-Andre Zambo Anguissa will link up as usual, with Scott McTominay playing a hybrid role between box-to-box and attacking midifielder.

Matteo Politano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will operate on the flanks, while Romelu Lukaku spearheads the club’s charge.

Napoli Probable XI (4-2-3-1): Caprile; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Olivera; Lobotka, Zambo Anguissa; Politano, McTominay, Kvaratskhelia; Lukaku