David Ospina

As many as four players could be missing for Napoli manager Gennaro Gattuso ahead of their league meeting with league leaders AC Milan this weekend. Gattuso has been able to mastermind a decent start for Napoli in the Italian top flight this season and the upcoming test will be determine their status as far as the league title is concerned.

AC Milan are one of the three unbeaten teams in the division after the first seven league games of the season. The Rossoneri have been the early pacesetters in the Italian Serie A with a two-point lead from Sassuolo in second place on the league standings, while Napoli are further back by a point in third place. Apart from Milan, Sassuolo and defending champions Juventus are the only unbeaten teams in the league.

Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti has indicated that goalkeeper David Ospina has a future with the Serie A outfit beyond the current campaign. The Colombia international has made 11 appearances in the Serie A since his season-long loan move from Arsenal in the summer but his future has come under question with Alex Meret competing with him for the number one role.

Speaking to reporters, Ancelotti clarified that the Colombian has a future with the Naples outfit regardless of the games he plays from now and the end of the season. He added that Ospina should have started for the midweek Europa League week game but a minor illness meant that he was dropped to the bench, he said: “Ospina was meant to play on Thursday in the Europa League, but wasn't feeling up to it, so I switched things around and used him [against Torino] instead. Ospina will remain at Napoli next season, regardless of how many games he plays.”