Hellas Verona coach Andrea Mandorlini has revealed he does not know which Napoli side will surface ahead of Sunday afternoon’s encounter but anticipates a challenging encounter with Rafael Benitez’s side.Mandorlini is looking to bounce back from a 3-1 defeat at the hand of Milan but expects the Partenopei to pose a difficult challenge for the Gialloblu, despite their mixed fortunes this season.
“Napoli could be a lot easier for us, but it could also be be a lot more difficult so we will need to see,” the 54-year-old told the press.
“If I am not mistaken, according to the initial league predictions, Napoli should be one of the sides who should be fighting for the title.
“We need to ensure we do not make mistakes and to concentrate, especially in defence as a strong team will not miss when given the change.
“I have great faith in my team and we have trained well prior to the match.
“It is clear Napoli with have the environmental advance as the home side but we knew that would be the case and we need to accept this.”
Mandorlini went on to discuss Verona’s preparation for the tie, including absentees and players returning to the side.
“We lost [Guillermo] Rodríguez which is disappointing so perhaps we will try something different as I have some ideas ahead of the match.
“I know there is potential and character in the team.
“Lazaros [Christodoulopoulos] is back in training and has been playing with the youth team, he is an important player for us so I am glad that he has recovered.”
