Napoli, Conte's formation puzzle during the break: still 3-5-2 or return to 4-3-3?

Naples, March 19, 2025 - Continue to follow the path of 3-5-2 to give confidence to the well-matched tandem composed of Romelu Lukaku e James Raspadori or go back to 4-3-3 which, in fact, had shaped the true fortunes of the Napoli long-time leader? The break that has just begun promises to be a hot one and full of questions for Antonio Conte, who prophetically already in the summer had spoken of the intention to build a team capable of adapting to the moments of the championship and of the same match, chameleonically changing the tactical look without suffering any backlash. In part, things went like this: despite the serious injury emergency, the Azzurri kept pace with the best and in particular with theInter. Then, last Sunday, the 'sliding doors' that no one expected: the Neapolitans did not go beyond the 0-0 a Venice and the league leaders beat at homeAtalanta, bringing to 3 the advantage in the standings. A margin that is starting to take on a certain thickness but, with 9 games still available, obviously far from insurmountable. He knows it well Tale, which despite the exodus of several players, called up by their own National, is more than ever grateful for the arrival of a stopover at the headquarters of Castel Volturno will be crucial to try to resolve several critical issues: we start right from the module with which to face the final rush of the championship.

Towards the return of 4-3-3

 The return from injury of David Neres and the improvement of the shape of Noah okafor they seem to launch the sprint to the return of the flame of the 4-3-3, who has been at home for some time now Fuorigrotta regardless of the coach on duty. In fact, even if a three-man defense enthusiast like Tale has adapted to the trend in force in the shadow of Vesuvius, then the home of the Napoli it seems to be the module, among other things, of the year of the championship two years ago. In fact, everything seems ready to go in this direction and the signs of this decision were already visible in the tail end of the match Penzo, with the insertion of Okay on the left that almost paid the maximum dividends: instead, Giovanni Simeone sends a practically perfect assist sky-high and, with it, throws away the very probable victory of his team. A victory that Venice It did not arrive, with the immediate backlash in the rankings, but the indications collected inof yet another lunch match not lucky on the part of Tale there are many. In between there is a long break but still with several players elsewhere and without that serenity that has been felt for a long time during the season. Not only that: when the championship resumes the Napoli you will find the obstacles in sequence Milan e Bologna which will require performances that are up to the task to avoid further missteps. With all due respect to everything that has been done in recent weeks, the idea is to return to a 4-3-3 also rather unscrupulous, in which Okay e Neres they could even coexist. This would perhaps be too offensive an attitude: the alternative, in turn removed by an injury during the emergency period, is to raise to the left Leonardo Spinazzola, with certainly more conservative characteristics. The hope of this return to the origins is to give back to the Napoli more polish and vivacity up front and, despite what is usually written in football manuals, even more solidity at the back. In reality, and Tale is well aware of this 'detail', many evils of the Napoli of the last period were and are hidden in the folds of a psychophysical decline of the so-called first team players: also in this case the break comes as a glove, even if it cannot solve all the puzzles and perhaps not even all the problems.

Towards 4-3-3: who goes up and who goes down

Return to the 4-3-3, in fact, also means having to drastically reduce the saving contribution of those second lines that, in the last few weeks, have given the team new verve. It is easy to think above all of the midfield, less numerous in numerical level and, therefore, with fewer chances for Philip Billing, the man who with his net against theInter prevented - at the time - the leaders' advance, and for Billy gilmour, that with Stanislav Lobotka he built a great double play pair that is very useful in eluding the opponents' high pressing. Then, obviously, moving on to another duo, there would be Lukaku e Breakers: the first would remain on the pitch, of course, but as the central pivot of a very wide trident and, therefore, without his beloved close partner, who instead would return to the bench despite a still very hot foot, as also highlighted by the post at Penzo. On the other hand, it would gain instead Matteo Politano, who adapted well as a fifth but still moved away from the goal and probably took away a lot of the danger from his left foot when coming back. From the high right lane to the low one: there is little talk of the captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo, because consistency and dedication are never lacking, regardless of the tactical aspect, but its recent arm-in-arm mutation has in fact weakened its incursion capabilities that had made the fortunes of the Napoli in the first part of the season. In short, whatever the choice of Tale, some players will benefit from it and others will instead risk seeing their contribution in terms of minutes and importance in the project extremely reduced. The Italian coach, not surprisingly, is still in the thinking room, a testimony to how the choice is less obvious and easy than what the returns from the infirmary might suggest. Even more crucial will be trying to 'cure' the psyche of a Napoli that has lost certainties, between tactical reversals, injuries to key players and a less rosy standings than in the past, when there was also that lightness linked to the dream of the Scudetto, which like all dreams at a certain point risks becoming a nightmare. On the horizon other 9 games to try to avoid this or, at least, to remove any regrets.

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