Lookman to start against his favorite victim

The best indication of how alarming the situation in Castel Volturno is can be seen in the fact that Antonio Conte did not hold a press conference before the match against Atalanta. Unlike other big clubs whose coaches have the freedom to decide when to skip speaking to the media before a league match, in Naples press conferences are a standard practice because president Aurelio De Laurentiis has a kind of tacit agreement with numerous Neapolitan media outlets (radio stations, local TV channels, and websites dedicated to Napoli) to ensure regular meetings with the coach before Serie A games, just as is the case for Champions League matches.

Two crucial weeks for Antonio Conte

Conte did not meet the press before the match with Atalanta, but he held a meeting with the players that lasted more than an hour in Castel Volturno. According to reports in Naples, the coach and the players cleared the air and made a pact for a fresh start, fully aware that all credit has been used up. The absence of Frank Anguissa and Kevin De Bruyne, as well as the drop in form of Politano and Di Lorenzo, has led Napoli’s head coach to consider changing the team’s formation and returning to a defensive line of three players, meaning a 3-4-2-1 setup.

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Napoli has an advantage in the fact that it has not lost a single match at home in 2025. However, Atalanta is one of only two teams that recently left the “Maradona” singing, and in the meantime the Goddess has changed captains as well. Raffaele Paladino will make his debut on the Dea’s bench in the city whose suburb he was born in, and against the club he supported as a kid. Paladino, at least according to reports from Zingonia, intends to start with the attacking trident of De Ketelaere – Scamacca – Lookman.

Napoli and Atalanta are both teams in crisis. Napoli has gone two Serie A matches without scoring a goal (a draw and a defeat against Como and Bologna), while Atalanta has not won a league game in almost two months — after five consecutive draws came two straight losses. Napoli and Atalanta do not draw. In their last 11 encounters, not a single match has ended in a tie: six wins for the Azzurri and five for the Nerazzurri. The last draw between these two teams was recorded six years ago.

Cry of a desperate Conte: "I don't want to work with dead team"

Atalanta has won its last two visits to the “Maradona,” both times with a score of 3–0, and in its history it has never managed to celebrate three straight victories in Naples. In fact, the Bergamo side has only managed three or more consecutive away wins against one opponent — Sassuolo (four wins). Attention on Ademola Lookman — Napoli is his favorite victim, given that he has scored five goals against the Azzurri. Napoli has five players on the injury list. Besides Lukaku, De Bruyne, Anguissa, Meret, and Gilmore are out. The problem for Conte is that he will not see Anguissa, De Bruyne, or Meret back on the pitch until 2026. Unlike Napoli, Atalanta for the first time this season has only two injured players — Scalvini and Bakker.

ITALY SERIE A ROUND 12

Saturday

17.00: (2.85) Cagliari (2.95) Genoa (2.75)

17.00: (3.60) Udinese (3.25) Bologna (2.15)

20.00: (4.00) Fiorentina (3.50) Juventus (2.05)

22.45: (2.25) Napoli (3.45) Atalanta (3.45)

Sunday

14.30: (2.35) Verona (3.10) Parma (3.55)

17.00: (5.90) Cremonese (3.70) Roma (1.63)

20.00: (1.65) Lazio (3.60) Lecce (6.00)

22.45: (1.95) Inter (3.60) Milan (4.20)

Monday

20.30: (3.50) Torino (3.20) Como (2.30)

22.45: (2.05) Sassuolo (3.35) Pisa (3.80)

***odds are subject to change***