Coppa Italia: Spalletti counts, between absences and new entries in Napoli

Coppa Italia at the start for a Napoli that in the league has successfully defended the third place in the standings behind the Milanese and who works every day to expand the bench, finding players kept out of the field by Covid.

Tomorrow the eighth final against Fiorentina is scheduled in a Maradona stadium which - due to the anti Covid restrictions in force - will not be able to count on more than 5,000 spectators.

Spalletti will be on the bench instead, ready to think about the muscles to try and those to squeeze every three days, considering the absences of Koulibaly, Anguissa and Ounas, all three involved in the Africa Cup.

    Insigne will also be missing, blocked for two weeks by the adductor injury, and so in attack there will still be room for Petagna, with Mertens on the left wing. The novelty could be Fabian Ruiz who returned to the field and played the last quarter of an hour of the match with Sampdoria: with Fiorentina, the Spaniard could enter from the beginning alongside Lobotka in midfield, or enter the second half for do not strain the muscles.

    To try for a longer time there is also Tuanzebe, the new man of the Azzurri defense arrived in the recent market in January and already used for the last quarter of an hour against Sampdoria as a left winger, but whose natural role is that of central and in that position could be tried in place of Juan Jesus.

    Experiments to do while waiting for other excellent returns, such as Osimhen, who wants to play and who today with the mask that will protect his operated face for some time, first carried out a part of personalized work and then the entire sitting in a group. The Nigerian asked Spalletti to go on the bench already in the Italian Cup to feel the contact with the game and with Maradona, having a great desire to return to play.

    Hirving Lozano is also returning and is expected today in Naples where he will make post Covid visits to return to training and hope to play as soon as possible, already part of Monday's match against Bologna.

Meanwhile, today Napoli is also waiting for the results of the new pads for Mario Rui and Malcuit, other elements on which Spalletti relies to face the second part of the season with renewed ambitions.