SB Nation

Napoli take light squad to Belgium to face Club Brugge

Getty Images/Getty Images

Several of Napoli's bigger names are staying home for this week's Europa League clash.

With a rash of injuries and Napoli having little to play for in the Europa League at this point -- they've all but locked up the top spot in their group, requiring a dramatic reversal in fortunes to get caught -- Maurizio Sarri has elected to leave a number of players home for their trip to Belgium and match against Club Brugge.

Gonzalo Higuain, Pepe Reina, Raul Albiol, and Jorginho were all left in Naples for the trip, along with the injured Dries Mertens and Manolo Gabbiadini. That leaves Napoli's attack looking awfully thin for this game, and it shouldn't be surprising if we see a return to the 4-3-1-2 for this match just because of who's available.

The heavy amount of resting going on for this match also creates a couple of opportunities for younger players. Two Primavera players, goalkeeper Alessio Gionta and forward Antonio Negro, have been called up to make the trip as part of the travelling squad, as was reserve defender Sebastiano Luperto. It shouldn't be surprising if we see some late minutes for one or two of that trio, and likely for little-used midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah as well.

The full 19-man traveling squad is listed below. Napoli will be able to name an 18-man matchday squad, so one player -- almost certainly Gionta or Rafael Cabral -- will be left out.

Goalkeepers: Gabriel, Rafael Cabral, Alessio Gionta

Defenders: Christian Maggio, Vlad Chiriches, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ivan Strinic, Elseid Hysaj, Sebastiano Luperto, Faouzi Ghoulam

Midfielders: David Lopez, Nathaniel Chalobah, Mirko Valdifiori, Allan, Marek Hamsik

Forwards: Jose Callejon, Lorenzo Insigne, Omar El Kaddouri, Antonio Negro

X
Log In Sign Up
If you currently have a username with "@" in it, please email support@voxmedia.com.
forgot?
forgot?
Log In Sign Up

Forgot password?

We'll email you a reset link.
If you signed up using a 3rd party account like Facebook or Twitter, please login with it instead.

Forgot username?

We'll email it to you.
If you signed up using a 3rd party account like Facebook or Twitter, please login with it instead.

Forgot password?

If you signed up using a 3rd party account like Facebook or Twitter, please login with it instead.
Try another email?

Forgot username?

If you signed up using a 3rd party account like Facebook or Twitter, please login with it instead.
Try another email?

Almost done,

By becoming a registered user, you are also agreeing to our Terms and confirming that you have read our Privacy Policy.

Join The Siren's Song

You must be a member of The Siren's Song to participate.
We have our own Community Guidelines at The Siren's Song. You should read them.

Join The Siren's Song

You must be a member of The Siren's Song to participate.
We have our own Community Guidelines at The Siren's Song. You should read them.

Authenticating

Great!

Choose an available username to complete sign up.
In order to provide our users with a better overall experience, we ask for more information from Facebook when using it to login so that we can learn more about our audience and provide you with the best possible experience. We do not store specific user data and the sharing of it is not required to login with Facebook.