Napoli host Frosinone in Napoli vs Frosinone on Saturday 10 October in the sixth round of Serie A, and the main selection call is up front. Massimiliano Allegri is reportedly considering starting Lorenzo Lucca instead of Rasmus Højlund, with Napoli then facing Villarreal in the Champions League on 13 October.
Allegri's forward-line decision
The rotation case is easy to see in the numbers. Højlund has 2 Serie A goals, 5 appearances and 349 league minutes, so he has already carried a proper workload. Lucca has only 4 league appearances and 88 minutes, which makes a start look more like deliberate management than a form call.
Sports Mole have also pointed out that Napoli have only two wins from their first six games and that Villarreal comes three days after Frosinone. Calciomercato.it, quoting Allegri in Italian, said he was thinking about starting Lucca instead of Højlund and giving the striker a rest with Villarreal in mind.
Napoli's start against Frosinone's form
The table adds another layer. Napoli are ninth in Serie A on 7 points after five league matches, while Frosinone are sixth on 10 points. Napoli have won five of the last six top-flight meetings, so the home side still have the better head-to-head record, but the gap in current form is small enough to make the selection choice feel relevant rather than routine.
Napoli need points on Saturday, but they also have to arrive in Spain with their attack intact. If Allegri does go with Lucca, it will tell you plenty about how he wants to manage the week before the Villarreal trip.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
