{"id":1102331,"date":"2019-08-19T16:08:08","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T15:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1102331"},"modified":"2019-08-19T16:08:08","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T15:08:08","slug":"napoli-line-up-serie-a-season-ancelotti","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/napoli-line-up-serie-a-season-ancelotti\/","title":{"rendered":"How Napoli could line up for the 2019\/20 Serie A season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 118th edition of Serie A kicks off this week and you won’t believe who the favourites are.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That’s right, Italian football’s supreme force Juventus, who are chasing a ninth championship on the bounce.\u00a0Naturally such dominance has made way for apathy with neutrals keen to see I Bianconeri<\/em> knocked off their perch.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7343141-chelsea-can-get-excited-about-n-golo-kante-s-messi-impression<\/p>\n

Until now few have come anywhere close to solving the Juve equation; of the eight previous runners-up Napoli have finished second on four occasions, including the past two seasons.<\/p>\n

However, their gap to Italy’s first among equals was an average 7.5 points, it’s clear Carlo Ancelotti’s men will need to enjoy a near perfect season for the Scudetto to return south after 30 years.<\/p>\n

A champion in four different countries, Ancelotti believes he’s got the squad to push Juve all the way and be genuine contenders, but how could they line-up in their quest to reach the promised land?<\/p>\n

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1. Wing wonders<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Since taking over the reigns at Napoli \u2013 his ninth coaching gig during an illustrious managerial career \u2013 and succeeding Maurizio Sarri, whose job is now to maintain Juve’s supremacy when he was previously the biggest thorn in their side, the Reggiolo-born tactician has been clear when it comes to the shape he wants his side to play.<\/p>\n

Across 52 outings to date, he’s fielded a 4-4-2 in no fewer than 42 games, making it firmly his go-to formation and we can assume it will be the system he will be fielding in the Blues’ opening league fixture at Fiorentina which makes sense given it plays to his side’s strength.<\/p>\n

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Napoli are blessed with electric pace on the flanks and Hirving Lozano’s expected arrival from PSV Eindhoven only enhances that. It could be a while before he’s fully assimilated to life in Serie A, but he needs to look no further than new teammate Dries Mertens, who also joined from the Dutch giants, to know it’s possible.<\/p>\n

Both feature here with Jos\u00e9 Callej\u00f3n on the opposite wing and Arkadiusz Milik up front. A central midfield of Fabi\u00e1n Ruiz and Piotr Zielinski offers control as well as the necessary bite to ensure balance. No surprise to see the much-wanted Kalidou Koulibaly in the heart of defence alongside big summer recruit Konstantinos Manolas with David Ospina keeping goal.<\/p>\n