(Reuters) – Serie A leaders Napoli need to be aggressive in Saturday’s clash against visitors Udinese, their last league match before the World Cup break, manager Luciano Spalletti said on Friday as his side look to continue their winning run.
Napoli top the Serie A standings with an eight-point lead over second-placed Lazio and could win 11 league matches in a row for the first time in their history if Spalletti’s side triumph over eighth-placed Udinese.
“If we think that this is the match that allows us to go on holiday, it is amateur thinking,” Spalletti told reporters.
“But if we think that it allows us to face the break and the hard work that will follow, then we are professionals. (It is) A match in which we need to be ferocious.”
The Italian praised opposition manager Andrea Sottil, saying he had already shown signs he had a vision for coaching when he played as a defender under Spalletti when he managed Udinese earlier in his career.
“It is a difficult match… there are people who think it is an easy game but my players do not believe so,” Spalletti said.
Winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will miss the game as the 21-year-old Georgian, who has played a key role since joining the club in the close season, has not recovered from acute lower back pain, which has already kept him out of two league games.
“These two matches have shown us that we are a team and not a group of individuals, but we want Kvara back as soon as possible,” Spalletti said.
He added that the upcoming World Cup break could be beneficial if Napoli use it to improve even further.
“During that time we will need to stay fit and do our job well, and I’ll need to keep an eye on who thinks that the break is time off,” Spalletti said.
Napoli travel to Inter Milan, who are fifth in the standings, on Jan. 4 in their first game after the World Cup.
(Reporting by Silvia Recchimuzzi in Gdansk; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
