Napoli, De Laurentiis caught off guard by Allegri’s decisions: Montella emerges as a possibility in the event of a sacking

For Allegri, the matches against Bodo/Glimt and Roma will be decisive

Five defeats in the first nine matches of the season, across the league and Champions League. Napoli haven't posted figures this poor for 20 years, leaving Massimiliano Allegri's job under threat and casting doubt on the project built around him. Two matches now loom: Tuesday's third round of Champions League fixtures against Bodo/Glimt at the Maradona, followed by Saturday's home game against Roma in the eighth round of Serie A fixtures. Both could prove pivotal to Napoli's season. Two more poor results could even prompt Napoli to consider changing manager.

De Laurentiis caught off guard

In yesterday's defeat to Venezia, rotation was understandable given the packed fixture list, but some team selection decisions have raised questions, including the Giovane-Lucca strike partnership. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, "even president De Laurentiis was reportedly taken aback by some of the decisions".

Allegri’s defence

After the defeat in the Lagoon, Allegri said: "If you look at the results, it's normal that there may be concern, but we're looking at the performances. We also created plenty against Villarreal; against Venezia, we played an organised match and went down to half a mistake, an own goal. Having experienced moments like these in my career, we have to turn disappointment into anger to win matches".

Montella emerges

Names of possible replacements for Allegri are circulating in case the situation deteriorates. They include Igor Tudor and Thiago Motta. Vincenzo Montella's name has also emerged in recent hours. He is available after his spell in charge of Turkey ended.