Conte and Napoli wary of Venezia threat
Napoli head coach Antonio Conte is wary of the threat Venezia poses his side ahead of their Serie A clash on Monday (AEDT), despite its lowly position in the standings.
Conte's team currently sits second on the table, a point adrift of leader Inter Milan, while Venezia is 19th and at risk of relegation with 10 games of its season left.
In Serie A this season, only Lecce has scored fewer goals than Venezia, 21 to 23, level with Empoli and Monza, but it has improved defensively in 2025.
Eusebio Di Francesco's side has held top five sides Lazio and Atalanta to goalless draws, while also making Inter and Roma work for respective 1-0 victories.
Napoli has won three of its top-flight matches against Venezia without conceding a goal, but Conte insists that the encounter will be a tough one for his players.
"With Venezia we will have to show that we are better than them, hungrier and more willing to win than them, knowing that they will want to do the same," Conte said.
"I have studied the teams that played there, the difficulties Inter Milan, AS Roma, Lazio faced.
"It won't be a walk in the park. I expect a great game. We need a demonstration of maturity and to show that we are on the ball.
"Nothing can be taken for granted. We face a healthy team, they will play their cards to save themselves, we will have to play a great match and I expect that."
Conte also lauded Romelu Lukaku, who scored and assisted in Napoli's 2-1 win over Fiorentina and looked dangerous alongside Giacomo Raspadori in attack.
Lukaku has 18 goal involvements – 10 goals, eight assists – in Serie A this season, with only Atalanta's Mateo Retegui managing more in the Italian top-flight with 26.
Since the Belgian's first season with a goal across Europe's top five leagues - for West Bromwich Albion in 2012-2013 – only Robert Lewandowski has scored 10 or more goals in more campaigns than Lukaku, 13 to 12.
Raspadori, meanwhile, has now scored three goals in his past four Serie A appearances, as many as he had in his previous 39.
"Surely having someone on your side can relieve you of the duties of a first striker, but Romelu had two good matches, as did the whole team," Conte said.
"But I expect more from him already, from tomorrow's game. He must confirm what he did in the last two but try to do even better, like everyone else, not just him."
