Lecce to face a formidable Napoli squad in title match, warns Roberto D’Aversa

Lecce coach Roberto D’Aversa will prepare his side to face a “full squad” when Napoli travel to the Via del Mare stadium.

Napoli eased the pressure on head coach Rudi Garcia with a 4-1 win over Udinese on Wednesday night, putting the Serie A champions in fifth place in the table heading into the next round of matches.

Speculation over Garcia’s future continues, however, with the French coach shirking recent media duties amid reports of unrest in the camp and a bizarre TikTok video that appeared to mock striker Victor Osimhen following his penalty against Bologna “.

D’Aversa, however, expects nothing less than the toughest test from Partenopeia early Saturday.

“If I had to list them all (Napoli’s strengths), we would never finish,” the Lecce coach told a press conference.

“They are Italian champions, they have a complete team with capable and quality players – Osimhen attacks from deep and is one of the best in Europe.

“There has to be a desire on our part to put on a great performance.”

Lecce are just one place behind Napoli on equal points after losing their first Serie A game of the season 1-0 to Juventus on Tuesday night.

D’Aversa will be without midfielder Mohamed Kaba due to suspension following a late sending off and will be looking to rotate his squad.

“When there are three games a week, you have to keep an eye on the player’s performance,” he said.

“In Turin we had no staff turnover. We need to pay more attention to certain situations.

“(Lorenzo) Venuti and (Rémi) Oudin are starting positions for me. It is clear that, where possible, there will be some changes tomorrow.”

Reports in Italy suggest Osimhen will not take legal action against Napoli following the TikTok video.

After facing Lecce, Napoli will host Real Madrid in the Champions League next week.

Striker Giovanni Simeone scored against Udinese and feels the team can reboot and continue the season.

“Let’s start with this victory,” said the Argentine, whose words were published on the club’s official website. “We have worked hard and raised little so far, but we know our worth.

“We are a strong and united group. We recognize that no two seasons will be the same, but we are also confident that we have the spirit, mentality and qualities to continue to be the leading characters.”