Daniele De Rossi has warned his Genoa players that nothing will come easy against Napoli on Saturday, predicting Antonio Conte will have the visitors firing on all cylinders.

Napoli visit the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris this weekend, having fallen nine points adrift of Scudetto frontrunners Inter in the table.

The Partenopei beat Fiorentina 2-1 last Saturday, having exited the Champions League following a 3-2 loss to Chelsea three days earlier, but that was just their second win in their last six Serie A matches (three draws, two defeats).

Napoli have also lost eight of their 16 away matches in all competitions this season (six wins, two draws) – no other Serie A side has registered more defeats on the road in 2025-26 (also eight for Lecce and Fiorentina).

But De Rossi has warned his team, who are 14th in the table with a six-point buffer to the relegation zone, to expect a difficult test.

"When Napoli have all the players at their disposal, I think they are the best or second-best squad in Serie A, with the most successful coach of recent years in Italy," De Rossi said. 

"They had a moment of disappointment with their Champions League elimination, but then they got right back to their feet. 

"If we think that we're going to face a downhearted team, we've got the worst coach in the world for that! Conte knows how to motivate them and find the right words."

De Rossi played under Conte when the latter was Italy's head coach, from 2014 to 2016. The Azzurri reached the Euro 2016 quarter-finals under his watch.

Asked about his experience of working with Conte, De Rossi said: "He gives you the most important things a player can get from his coach. He gives you courage and knowledge. 

"For example, there wasn't a single time he didn't explain to us the mechanism of a movement.

"I said once it was tough to be coached by Conte, but wonderful at the same time. He is tough, but he treats you like a great player.

"I also think he puts his players in great physical shape. He is a complete coach, world class, winning in Italy and abroad. If I was a Serie A president, his name would be the first I'd think of to lead my team."

This will be the first Serie A encounter between De Rossi and Conte as managers; the two previously faced each other once as players in the Italian top flight, when Roma beat Juventus 4-0 on February 8, 2004 at the Stadio Olimpico.

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Genoa – Ruslan Malinovskyi 

Malinovskyi has scored in his last two Serie A appearances against Bologna and Lazio. 

The Ukrainian could score in three consecutive Serie A matches for only the second time in his career, after April 2021 (against Juventus, Roma and Bologna, while playing for Atalanta).

Napoli – Rasmus Hojlund

After netting a brace against Cremonese on December 28, Hojlund has failed to score in all seven of his Serie A appearances in 2026. 

Indeed, no player has attempted more shots without scoring in the competition this year than the Dane (15), who is level with Jesus Rodriguez.

MATCH PREDICTION – NAPOLI WIN 

Napoli are unbeaten in 24 of their last 25 Serie A matches against Genoa (W16 D8); the Rossoblu's only win against them in this period came at home in February 2021, with Goran Pandev scoring twice in a 2-1 win.

Entertainment could be on the cards on Saturday, as both Genoa and Napoli have scored in each of their last seven Serie A meetings at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, with 24 goals scored in total during this period (3.4 per game). 

Napoli have recorded five wins in that time, while there has been one draw and one Genoa victory.

Genoa have earned just two points in their last 11 Serie A matches against teams starting the day in the top four, though one of those two points did come against Napoli (a 2-2 draw in May last season).

Conte has lost five of his 12 away matches in Serie A this season (W6 D1 L5). 

The only time in his career that the Italian has recorded more away league defeats (across Serie A, Serie B and the Premier League) was in 2017-18 with Chelsea (six in 19 games), but his team are still slight favourites with the supercomputer.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Genoa – 25.4% 

Napoli – 44.9%

Draw – 29.6%