Conte: Not a lucky week for Napoli, I won’t ‘label anyone’ as title favourites

Napoli coach Antonio Conte says the last week ‘hasn’t been lucky’ for the Partenopei, who must cope without Alessandro Buongiorno and Amir Rrahmani against Milan: ‘I won’t label anyone as title favourites.’

Napoli coach Conte previewed tomorrow’s Serie A match against Milan during a press conference on Saturday.

The Partenopei are the table leaders and the only team to have won each of their opening four league games, but Milan are just as in form with three consecutive Serie A wins without conceding.

Napoli, the defending title holders, will travel to San Siro without centre-backs Buongiorno and Rrahmani.

Milan vs. Napoli – Conte’s press conference

“It hasn’t been a lucky week; some players are missing, we’ve also had a few other problems, but as you know, problems always come during a season and often even come all together,” Conte said via TMW.

“But we must be good at finding solutions and trying to do our best.

“When you play against teams like Milan, Inter, or Juventus, they are always big matches. We’re talking about clubs with history, tradition and an important record of achievements,” he continued.

“Every year, they compete to reach the top. We always respect everyone, from them to the newly promoted sides. The matches will always be tough, but also a great showcase at San Siro for the boys. We’ll go out there to play our game.

“Regardless of the type of game Milan want to play, we have to try to play the one we’ve prepared. For the rest, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Milan won’t play in any European competition this season, just like Napoli in 2024-25. Does this mean the Rossoneri are among the title contenders this term?

Conte won’t name Serie A title favourites

“Personally, I thought it was crazy when people called us favourites given that we had finished 10th, out of European competitions, in the previous campaign,” Conte replied.

“I don’t label anyone as favourites. I just know, and I repeat, that Milan, Inter and Juve, because of their history, tradition, wages and financial value, have always written important chapters in football history. They are strong teams. As for who is the favourite or not, I’ll leave those games to the media. We just need to stay focused.”

During his pre-match press conference, on the other hand, Allegri said Napoli are the title favourites in 2025-26.

“It’s just the fifth round; there’s a whole season to play for everyone,” Conte concluded.

“Whether it’s about the Scudetto or not, we want to do our best, just like Milan and every other team. One team will win and the others will fight for the Champions League and Europe. I see great balance, and we’ll need to wait at least until the end of one round to understand the real picture.”