Antonio Conte will know that when he picks his Napoli side to face Chelsea on Wednesday night, he and his players will be up against it. Napoli are in the midst of a crisis.
Seven key players are set to miss the clash. They include Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and David Neres, who were ruled out before the game. Conte has Romelu Lukaku back, but admits he is not 100% fully fit.
Napoli have dipped compared to last season, when Scott McTominay won the Serie A Player of the Season award and Conte masterminded a Serie A-winning campaign. Injury has prevented a double.
Antonio Conte loves the new Chelsea owners 😬
Do they come anywhere near close to Roman Abramovich?
Antonio Conte on Chelsea
Photo by SSC NAPOLI/SSC NAPOLI via Getty Images
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Now, Conte faces Chelsea. While the Blues need a win to secure a top-eight place, Napoli simply need to win just to give themselves a chance of a play-off spot. Conte is pulling out all the stops for a result.
Antonio Conte is using mind games as he names Chelsea trio
Speaking to Sky Sports in Italy as per TMW, Conte named three Chelsea players. He underlined that Chelsea spend more than Napoli, using Estevao, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo as examples.
“If you have the opportunity to spend maybe €120-€130million on 22-year-old players… Just think of Caicedo and Fernandez signed for €250million. We’re all good at signing Estevao for €60million.
Estevao Willian and Moises Caicedo during a Chelsea training session at Cobham.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
“I’d like to do the same with my president, but only certain clubs can. In Italy, it’s impossible; no one can. In England, many teams can do it. In Spain, even Real Madrid, who signed Vinicius for €70m at just 17.
“You have to be honest; there are different realities, and the English one is very different from ours. If you build a young team, then over the years it becomes even stronger and more dominant,” Conte said.
Perhaps, Conte was simply underlining the difference between Chelsea and Napoli, or English clubs and Italian budgets. But on the eve of a game where Napoli need all the help they can get, it’s mind games.
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Estevao stats vs Crystal Palace
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What Conte has done by making these comments and specifically, naming Enzo, Caicedo and Estevao, is pile the pressure on Chelsea. Conte has suggested that Chelsea have a higher level of player than Napoli.
Because, they can afford more. This can backfire; Napoli’s players may feel Conte is disrespecting them. But the intention here is clear, pile the pressure on Chelsea and the players, including the crucial trio.
Enzo and Caicedo will start tomorrow and Estevao might do too, given his goal and assist against Crystal Palace on Sunday. Conte has tried to put the pressure on Chelsea, by highlighting the cash difference.
Chelsea might have been susceptible to a mind game attack in the past under an emotional manager in Enzo Maresca. But under Rosenior, who seems impeccably calm, Chelsea can ignore Conte’s comments.
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