Chelsea vs. Napoli Preview

It’s now or never for Chelsea and their beleaguered boss Andre Villas Boas as the Blues look to overturn a 3-1 first leg deficit against Napoli at Stamford Bridge on March 14.

Chelsea’s capitulation in Naples was expected by many and the nature of the result and their performance did much to summarise the indifferent campaign which they have thus far endured.

Outclassed and outplayed, AVB’s men could well have succumbed 6-1 to the Italians who dominated completely but also wasted a handful of chances to put the tie well out of sight.

Chelsea were hardly given the best preparation for the match after learning the full extent of lynchpin John Terry’s injury which will keep the former England captain out of action for the best part of two months.

However, what followed in the Stadio San Paulo did far greater damage to the club and the inept defending displayed by Terry’s cover will be what sets the most alarm bells ringing.

After dreams of regaining the Premier League title turned into a nightmare following a succession of poor results, the Champions League is now all that is left for Chelsea but that also looks set to fall by the wayside unless something special can be produced against the odds at the Bridge.

Napoli will be licking their lips at the now realistic opportunity of reaching the quarter-finals and restoring the respected European reputation which they garnered throughout the eighties when spearheaded in attack by Diego Maradona.

Walter Mazzarri’s side of today may not be blessed with a superstar of Maradona’s ilk; nevertheless they do boast an exceptionally talented midfield and forward line, formed around the prolific Uruguayan striker Edison Cavani who caused Chelsea a whole host of problems in Italy alongside partner Ezequiel Lavezzi. That pair must be capable of wreaking more havoc in the return leg however Chelsea will be focused on playing more positively and trying to get in behind the Neapolitan back four which also showed signs of weakness when put under sustained pressure.

On the evidence of the first ninety minutes, Napoli undoubtedly look the better team and an overall stronger unit. But they could rue the extra chances missed at home and the door is definitely ajar, if not quite fully open, for Chelsea.

Chelsea still have a chance depending on how they start the match and an early goal would obviously help a tremendous amount.

Without being able to gauge how well Chelsea can recover in time for the second leg, the qualification market should probably be left alone as 5/2 is not really big enough for the Blues at two goals adrift whilst Napoli may be susceptible to a comeback at 2/7. What does look certain is more goals to occur and the over 2.5 market is worth a serious check.

On balance, Chelsea may be good value at 5/6 to win on the night but quarter-final qualification really is anyone’s guess and this match should follow suit from the first encounter and provide an excellent night of end to end entertainment.

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26/02/2012     © Frixo 2024