Champions League Match-Day two has arrived and sees Liverpool look to build on their three points amassed so far in Group C. The next step on the Road to Madrid is a stop in Southern Italy for a tie with Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
While Liverpool come into this game having won their opening fixture, the same cannot be said of Napoli who played out a frustrating draw with Red Star Belgrade. Napoli’s first home fixture is one they will be looking to win after that stalemate and Liverpool will need to be wary of the threat they pose. The Gil Azzurri are a terrific attacking side and while they are still acclimatising to the arrival of Ancelotti, they still possess some splendid talent in their locker such as Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens. Both teams are 2nd in their respective divisions, and while this game comes prior to a top of the table clash for Liverpool with Manchester City, it follows the equivalent fixture for Napoli, who lost 3-1 to Juventus on Saturday. This was Napoli’s second league defeat under Ancelotti after a thrashing at Sampdoria earlier in the campaign. There could be a case that Napoli are a less tough prospect than twelve months ago when under the stewardship of Maurizio Sarri, but Liverpool’s trip to the Stadio San Paolo will still be intimidating and a sizeable challenge.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
Liverpool played Napoli in a pre-season friendly over the summer and so these sides have been acquainted pretty recently, in a fixture that Liverpool won 5-0 with goals from Wijnaldum, Milner, Salah, Sturridge and Moreno. The last competitive meeting between the two came in the Europa League Group Stage in 2010, and the result at the Stadio Sao Paolo was a creditable 0-0 draw for a young Liverpool side, while the Reds defeated Napoli 3-1 at Anfield with a hat trick from Steven Gerrard, after being 1-0 down for large parts of the game. The only survivor from either side that night is Marek Hamsik, who is still a regular fixture in the Napoli team. The Napoli side that night featured the likes of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Edinson Cavani and former Portsmouth striker Hasssan Yebda. In terms of recent matches in Italy, the Reds had to overcome the challenge of Roma in the semis of the Champions League last season – losing 4-2 away from home, and faced Udinese in the Europa League groups in 2012, picking up a 1-0 win. Jurgen Klopp has won five games away from home in Europe as Liverpool manager, picking up victories at Rubin Kazan, Hoffenheim, Maribor, Porto and Manchester City.
The hectic and difficult fixture period is drawing to a close for Liverpool and as such, Klopp will probably not need to rotate his pack too much. Alisson will keep his place in goal after an excellent performance at Stamford Bridge, and the defence is very likely to stay the same – why change a winning formula? Once again, the midfield is where there could be some changes. Captain Jordan Henderson often reserves his best performances for Champions League nights and so I think he will keep his place in the eleven and may operate deeper as Wijnaldum is due a rest ahead of Sunday’s showdown with Man City. James Milner will be a key player in a game like this where Liverpool will have periods without possession and so his discipline and energy will be needed. Naby Keita’s last few performances have been impressive and I think he will be restored to the starting eleven for this match as if Liverpool are to create anything from central areas, driving from the half space areas and shaking off the challenges of a Napoli midfield which lacks strength. Daniel Sturridge is in superb form and in my opinion deserves to be starting matches. However, I find it unlikely that he will start this match, I think Klopp will keep faith with the regular front three.
Napoli are likely to field an XI full of international talent and exciting players familiar to regular watchers of European football. On-loan Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina will start between the sticks and has shown himself for the Gunners on a number of occasions to be a shaky keeper, and Liverpool should look to test the Colombian as much as possible. Albanian defender Elseid Hysaj is a very underrated player and is part of a strong Napoli defence. Former Real Madrid centre back Raul Albiol is likely to start alongside Kalidou Koulibaly, one of the top ten centre backs in world football in a formidable centre back duo with Mario Rui at left back. Napoli play a 4-3-3 system similar to Liverpool and have a midfield which is excellent in possession and very comfortable in long spells of possession. The most defensive of the three is Allan, the 27-year old Brazilian. Piotr Zielinski is a player Liverpool targeted heavily in the summer of 2016 and he has been a key player for Napoli in the last few seasons. Slovak Marek Hamsik is a high quality technician and will look to pick up the ball in pockets of spaces for the Italian side. Jose Callejon never really got going at Real Madrid but has been a massive player for Napoli since his transfer in 2013 and can play wide right or drift inside to create more central attacks. Napoli’s left winger is a player I admire greatly: Lorenzo Insigne. Easily the most talented Italian player in the world, Insigne is a player who doesn’t get nearly enough praise and has been in excellent form this season with four goals in his last four games. Up front, it is likely to be Dries Mertens. The Belgian is a special talent and can play as a number ten or a centre forward, meaning he can float between the midfield and attack. Arkadiusz Milik is another option from the bench for Ancelotti too.
This is going to be a really tricky test for Liverpool. It will be a very intimidating and hostile atmosphere over in Naples and the team’s mentality needs to be on point for a game which Napoli may dominate possession. Discipline and leadership will be key to getting a result from this game. In my opinion, a draw away to Napoli would be a good result. However, Klopp will be hoping to get a win, and if we could get two wins from the first two then qualification will be almost a formality. Big, big game, this. Come on Liverpool.
Predicted XIs
Napoli: (4-3-3) Ospina; Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Rui; Allan, Zielinski, Hamsik; Callejon, Mertens, Insigne
Subs: Karnezis, Malcuit, Rog, Diawara, Fabian, Verdi, Milik
Liverpool: (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Milner, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Subs: Mignolet, Matip, Lovren, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Shaqiri, Sturridge
Score Prediction
Napoli 1-1 Liverpool
Daniel Daykin
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A great read. I must say I would like to see Sturridge come on and get some decent time given his recent excellent form.