Napoli head to Monza away from home at 19.45 GMT on Wednesday night with a suspension decision already settled. Massimiliano Allegri said, "We are dropping the appeal," and he has been given a two-match suspension. Amir Rrahmani is back in full training with the first-team group, while Benoît Badiashile will miss the trip.
Allegri's appeal decision
The headline here is the suspension, not the fixture itself. Allegri's choice to drop the appeal means Napoli will have to deal with the ban as it stands, and that removes any late uncertainty around the bench for Monza vs Napoli.
Napoli are 10th in Serie A after eight matches with 11 points, so this is not a side coming into the game with much margin for error. Their recent league run of DLWDW has been uneven, although the last two results have at least given the team some momentum before the midweek trip.
The defensive options for Monza
Badiashile's absence matters because he has made only two Serie A appearances this season, so this setback cuts into a spell that was already stop-start. Napoli will also be without Leonardo Spinazzola, which leaves the defensive options thinner than they would like.
Rrahmani's return offers the cleaner boost. He has come back to full training with the first-team group, and his 7.19 Serie A rating points to one of Napoli's steadier defensive performers being available again. That gives Allegri at least one more experienced option as he prepares a 20-player squad for Wednesday night.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
