Liverpool will clash heads with Napoli at the San Paolo Stadium on Tuesday night hoping to begin this UEFA Champions League campaign with a win away at Naples. Both teams come into this encounter with a victory under their belts at the weekend.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side got the better of the Reds in this fixture last season when they claimed a 1-0 win in front of their home supporters. However, that loss didn’t stop the Merseysiders from going on and winning the UEFA Champions League trophy at Madrid earlier this summer.
Jurgen Klopp would hope that his players can put in a much-improved showing in Italy this time around.
Talking Tactics
The Italian outfit might set-up in a 4-4-2 formation with Ancelotti expected to unleash the Lozano-Mertens striking combination up top. The Napoli boss would hope that his players will be able to stop the visitors from dictating play in midfield and create chances of their own on the break.
Klopp will opt for his favoured 4-3-3 formation and might make two changes to his side for this European clash. Joe Gomez will likely get the nod ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold to start at the right-back position. Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson should also get a start after being rested against the Magpies on Saturday.
Team News
Napoli
Arkadiusz Milik is a major doubt for this game. Both Fernando Llorente and Lorenzo Insigne will have to settle for a spot on Ancelotti’s bench, but they might get a chance to come on and feature in this match if required. Insigne scored the 90th-minute winner in this fixture last season so all eyes will be on him to make a significant impact when he comes off the bench.
Napoli Predicted XI
Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Nikola Maksimovic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Jose Callejon, Fabian Ruiz Pena, Elif Elmas; Piotr Zielinski, Hirving Lozano, Dries Mertens
Liverpool
Nathaniel Clyne, Naby Keita and Alisson Becker remain long-term absentees from Klopp’s squad. Divock Origi is also a major doubt after he picked up a knock against Newcastle United last weekend.
Liverpool Predicted XI
Adrian; Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane
Key Men
Napoli
Lozano and Mertens have impressed a lot through their performances for Napoli this season. They will have to share the goal-scoring workload up top. The defensive performances of Maksimovic and Koulibaly could decide the fate of this contest as they try to find a way to stop Firmino, Salah and Mane from wreaking havoc in the Napoli half.
Liverpool
Klopp’s front three will once again be expected to do most of the damage away at Naples. Both Robertson and Gomez will need to be at their best defensively if they are to help Liverpool get a win in midweek.
Odds
The bookmakers have made Liverpool a slight favourite to claim maximum points versus Carlo Ancelotti’s men in midweek after they were priced at 13/10. The draw is listed as 27/10 while Napoli are as big as 27/10 to emerge victorious on Tuesday night.
