Allegri confident De Bruyne can bounce back in 2025-26

Massimiliano Allegri has backed Kevin De Bruyne to enjoy his second season with Napoli after a frustrating debut campaign under Antonio Conte.

De Bruyne was openly critical of his first year in Italy last term. The Belgium international played just 21 games in 2025-26 after a thigh injury, scoring five goals and recording four assists following his free transfer from Manchester City. He was also critical of Conte’s tactics and claimed he would have left the club if Conte had not been replaced by Allegri this summer.

Allegri, preparing for Napoli’s Serie A opener against Genoa, said he was surprised by De Bruyne’s fitness levels despite a late arrival to pre-season.

"He arrived later on, but he’s already in good shape," Allegri said of De Bruyne. "I didn’t think he’d already be at this level after 10 days. Big players can play everywhere; they know how to play there and can find the best position."

Title race outlook

Napoli finished second in Serie A last term, 11 points behind champions Inter, as the Partenopei’s title defence fell short.

While Inter are widely backed as favourites to retain the Scudetto, Allegri believes the race could be wide open.

"We won’t talk about favourites, but Inter have the Scudetto on their chests, so, logically, they are favourites," Allegri said. "It will be a thrilling season with seven teams, eight with Inter [fighting for the title]: Napoli, Inter, Juventus, Milan, Como, Roma, Fiorentina and Atalanta. It’s all to be discovered, and you have to be good and balanced."

Allegri also highlighted the congested calendar ahead. "In 15 days, the Champions League starts, and that’s another goal, another wonderful competition, and then there’s the Coppa Italia. The team must remain competitive in all competitions."

Players to watch: Genoa vs Napoli

Genoa – Lorenzo Colombo. Colombo’s first Serie A goal came against Napoli in August 2022 whilst playing for Lecce, and he has two goals in total against the Partenopei. Last season the 2002-born striker set a personal best of seven Serie A goals, five of which came at home.

Napoli – Rasmus Hojlund. Genoa are the side against whom Hojlund has scored the most goals in Serie A with three, including his third and most recent brace in the competition. Hojlund has scored in his last two league games against Udinese and Pisa and could score in three consecutive Serie A appearances for only the second time, after doing so in January 2023 with Atalanta.

Match context and prediction

Napoli are unbeaten in 25 of their last 26 Serie A matches against Genoa, winning 17 and drawing eight, winning both meetings last season. Genoa’s only victory in that period came in February 2021.

Genoa and Napoli will meet on the opening matchday for the third time in the three-points-for-a-win era, after 2014-15 and 2011-12, with Napoli winning both previous encounters.

Napoli have won eight of their last nine Serie A opening-day matches, scoring 23 goals in the process. The only game in that run without a goal was a 3-0 defeat to Hellas Verona in 2024.

Genoa have drawn their last two Serie A openers 0-0 against Lecce last season and 2-2 against Inter in 2024-25.

Opta win probability for the opener: Genoa 22.5%, Draw 27.4%, Napoli 50.1%. Prediction: Napoli win.