Napoli vs. Chelsea Preview

Napoli’s group stage record against Chelsea’s Premier League rivals Manchester City is reason enough for the Blues to be extremely wary when they visit the Stadio San Paulo on February 21 for the first leg of the Champions League second round.

Walter Mazzarri’s men more than contributed to City’s somewhat unlucky Champions League exit after taking four points from their head to head fixtures.

After escaping the Etihad Arena with a well-deserved point, the Azzurri then put Roberto Mancini’s side to the sword in Italy courtesy of a superb double strike from star Uruguayan Edison Cavani.

And considering Chelsea’s huge deficit to Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title, the odds must surely be stacked against them to better City’s result in the Neapolitan’s back yard.

But, of course, football is not quite as simple as that and the one thing which Chelsea can take confidence from going into the tie is their healthy European pedigree which, unlike City, is on far more of an even keel with their Italian opponents.

Napoli have steadily grown as a force both domestically and on the continental stage over the past few seasons and they have so far fulfilled prior expectations by qualifying for the last 16 of the competition.

Such a practise has been a minimum requirement for Chelsea since they were taken over by multi-billionaire Roman Abramovich some years ago – and as is well known, the Russian supremo has his sights set firmly on lifting the title after a series of near misses.

It is not always the most full proof of exercises to measure teams’ recent domestic form ahead of the Champions League resumption when looking to bet on a certain result – nevertheless, the Blues assume a massive advantage in this department after holding their Premier League form well – whilst Napoli have slipped well off the pace in Serie A.

Indeed, Napoli’s only realistic chance of qualifying for next year’s Champions League is by winning the current renewal, as they are now a telling ten points adrift of Udinese in fourth following a string of disappointing results.

Chelsea, however, have recovered well from a fairly indifferent first half of the campaign and have been playing much better since their immediate goals were reassessed.

The Blues’ early season form left them a world away from both Manchester clubs in the race for the title but results have been far easier to come by post-Christmas with a fourth placed finish now their primary objective.

Napoli can now at least fully focus on prolonging their impressive Champions League campaign and a positive result at home to AVB’s men will be vital towards their prospects of securing a victory over both legs.

Midfielders Marek Hamsik and Marco Donadel will be seeking to suffocate Chelsea’s creative opportunities whilst also being able to provide enough ammunition for the aforementioned Cavani to feed.

Napoli have to be respected at Stadio San Paulo and although it is unlikely that the tie will be won or lost in Italy, it is hard to predict or see how Chelsea can do enough to take a lead to Stamford Bridge.

A draw or narrow Napoli advantage seems ominous and the visitors will probably be happy with both outcomes providing that they can sneak an away goal.

A 1-1 draw, inevitably therefore, is the favourite out of all possible outcomes at 5/1 and this should be taken and supported with a 2-1 Napoli success which is extremely appealing at a lofty looking 9/1.

Go To bet365

#Ad

12/02/2012     © Frixo 2024