Napoli go into Venezia vs Napoli at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo at 15:00 CEST on Saturday in the seventh round of Serie A, coming off a 3-1 defeat to Villarreal in the Champions League. The selection story is the main one here, with Lorenzo Lucca set to start and Rasmus Højlund left out of the line-up.
Napoli's selection call
Massimiliano Allegri said Højlund has played many matches and needs a bit of rest, or maybe to come off the bench. He also backed Lucca after his showing in Spain, saying he moved well, had a couple of favourable situations and has important quality. The coach added that Lucca has been criticised too much and has always worked hard with the right mentality.
The numbers point to a fresh change in usage. Lucca has made five Serie A appearances this season, and he is expected to start almost a year after his last start in blue, which came on 28 October 2025 against Lecce. Napoli have invested €35 million in him, and he has scored two goals for the club.
Venezia under Nicola
The other major subplot is on the home bench. Davide Nicola is making his debut after replacing Giovanni Stroppa, with Venezia still looking for their first points of the season.
They have lost all six Serie A matches this season and have conceded 16 goals in those games. Napoli can afford some rotation from a stronger position, with 10 points from six league matches, but this still feels like a game where the line-up choices carry more weight than usual. Juan Jesus and Pasquale Mazzocchi are also in the frame as former Napoli players now at Venezia, which adds a little extra edge to the meeting.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
