Napoli will entertain Liverpool at the Stadio San Paolo on Wednesday night after suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Juventus last weekend. The visitors, on the other hand, managed to avoid defeat through Daniel Sturridge’s stunning strike versus Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Both teams have plenty of talented players on display so we can expect a highly entertaining game of football at Naples. Carlo Ancelotti’s men only managed to earn a draw against Red Star Belgrade on the opening night of the UEFA Champions League while the Merseyside giants have already beaten Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield which would give them a lot of confidence going into this European clash.
Team News
Napoli
There are no fresh injury concerns for Carlo Ancelotti’s team, and it is expected that the home team would lineup with a strong first-team on Wednesday night. Napoli could opt for a 4-4-2 formation to counter the Reds’ 4-3-3 set-up in midweek with both Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne leading the line up-top.
Liverpool
Both Adam Lallana and Divock Origi will miss out on this clash at the Stadio San Paolo while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Rhian Brewster remain long-term casualties for the Reds. Jurgen Klopp is also expected to rest a few of his first-team stars and could opt to bring the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Xherdan Shaqiri and Naby Keita into his Liverpool first-team.
Predicted Lineups
Napoli
Ospina; Rui, Koulibaly, Albiol, Hysaj; Zielinski, Hamsik, Allan, Callejon; Mertens, Insigne
Liverpool
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Matip, Robertson; Keita, Henderson, Milner; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Key Men
Napoli
Both Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne need to have a good game in the Reds half if Ancelotti’s side are to come away with a result from this encounter. The central defensive partnership between Kalidou Koulibaly and Raul Albiol would also be integral for Napoli as they need to have a solid game to keep things tight at the back to neutralise the threat of the fluid Liverpool attackers.
Liverpool
Mohamed Salah is long overdue a goal away from Anfield, so the Egyptian needs to finish off some of the chances he creates in the final third. The performance of Joel Matip and Joe Gomez will also be crucial in defence if Liverpool are to gain a positive result on the night.
Odds
Liverpool win – 23/20
Draw – 13/5
Napoli win – 5/2
