Why Conte is planning Napoli tactical shift and McTominay tweak for Lecce

Reports in Italy claim that Antonio Conte is considering deploying a new formation for Napoli’s upcoming Serie A match against Lecce, which could see the return of Giacomo Raspadori to the starting line-up and a slightly different role for Scotland international Scott McTominay. 

Napoli currently have a three-point lead over Inter at the top of the Serie A standings with four games of the season left to play. The Partenopei will take on Lecce on Saturday, then Genoa, Cagliari and Parma, all of which are teams that Napoli have already beaten this season. 

However, a series of recent injuries means that Conte is forced to shuffle his pack for the Serie A run-in. 

Why Conte is changing shape for Lecce

Winger David Neres is currently out of action with a calf injury, which meant that Leonardo Spinazzola started on the left wing for the 2-0 win over Torino last fine settimana. 

However, an injury to centre-back Alessandro Buongiorno means that Napoli will have to move around several cogs in their system. 

With Buongiorno unavailable and Juan Jesus also injured, left-back Mathias Olivera is in line to start at centre-back alongside Amir Rrahmani. That means that Spinazzola, who started on the left wing last time out, will revert back to his typical position at left-back. 

What formation will Napoli play against Lecce?

That means that Napoli are left without many options out wide for a 4-3-3 or a 3-5-2, Conte’s two most commonly used systems so far this season. 

So, multiple outlets in Italy claim that Conte is planning on swapping to a 4-4-2 for the upcoming Serie A match against Lecce. That is expected to see Raspadori return to the starting line-up alongside Romelu Lukaku up front, with McTominay preparing for a shift out wide on the left of a midfield four. 

Stanislav Lobotka and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa are expected to keep hold of their usual central midfield roles, with Matteo Politano staying out wide on the right.