On the final matchday of the Group Stage in the Champions League, Napoli must win to stand a chance of getting themselves into the top 24, while Chelsea are holding onto a place in the top eight.
Antonio Conte and his Napoli side have struggled through injury in the defence of their Serie A title and the Neapolitans find themselves nine points adrift of league leaders Inter after losing 3-0 to Juventus at the weekend.
Liam Rosenior has had a very busy start to life as Chelsea boss and the Blues have begun reasonably in terms of results. Their 3-1 win at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace means that they have won four and lost one since Rosenior’s appointment.
AllSportsPeople brings you tips and odds for this Champions League clash.
Napoli vs. Chelsea: Who Will Win?
We're backing a fourth win in a row for Liam Rosenior's Chelsea in all competitions.
Napoli have lacked much fluency throughout the Conte reign but they were efficient at both ends of the pitch last season. Now, as ever with a Conte side, they are struggling to deal with the intensity of domestic and European commitments.
Chelsea will likely have a bit more space to play in Naples. That should help the often slow and overly deliberate Rosenior style speed up a bit as Napoli try to knock down the door but without much quality in the final third at the moment.
Score Prediction: Napoli 1-2 Chelsea (9.04 with Dafabet)
Head-to-Head: Napoli vs. Chelsea
- Napoli and Chelsea have only ever played against each other in one European tie in the past, which came in the round of 16 of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League.
- It was a famous clash with Napoli winning the first-leg 3-1 in Naples before Chelsea dramatically came back to pinch a second-leg victory after extra-time at Stamford Bridge.
- That was the season in which Chelsea then went on to also produce heroic and almost bizarre defeats of both Barcelona and Bayern Munich to win their first ever European cup.
Napoli vs. Chelsea: Form Guide
Napoli – Last 5 matches (All competitions)
- Juventus 3-0 Napoli (Serie A)
- Copenhagen 1-1 Napoli (UEFA Champions League)
- Napoli 1-0 Sassuolo (Serie A)
- Napoli 0-0 Parma (Serie A)
- Internazionale 2-2 Napoli (Serie A)
Chelsea – Last 5 matches (All competitions)
- Crystal Palace 1-3 Chelsea (Premier League)
- Chelsea 1-0 Pafos (UEFA Champions League)
- Chelsea 2-0 Brentford (Premier League)
- Chelsea 2-3 Arsenal (EFL Cup)
- Charlton Athletic 1-5 Chelsea (Premier League)
Napoli vs. Chelsea Betting Tips
This is a game that should suit Enzo Fernandez. The Argentine has finally this season been pushed further forward, where he thrived for Benfica a couple of years ago, and he is having more of an impact in an advanced midfield role.
With Chelsea likely able to simply soak up whatever disjointed pressure Napoli amount before springing forward, Fernandez will be key to both starting and perhaps even finishing counter-attacks and so we're backing the midfielder to score or assist.
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Napoli vs. Chelsea Team News
Napoli Team News
- The pragmatic Conte has switched from 4-3-3 to a back three this season due to their injury issues, most notably with Kevin De Bruyne having been missing for a while.
- His fellow midfielders Billy Gilmour and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa are also sidelined, really hampering the hosts’ options in the middle of the park.
- They also gave a fresh injury issue in goal as Vanja Milinkovic-Savic is now unavailable, while Alex Meret has returned to full fitness for the Partenopei.
Chelsea Team News
- Cole Palmer was missing against Palace once again at the weekend with the England international having to be assessed due to a thigh injury.
- The Blues are also expected to remain without former Villarreal goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, with former Bolton Wanderers loanee Teddy Sharman-Lowe making the bench at the weekend as Robert Sanchez’ closest competitor.
- Their other confirmed absentees include defensive duo Levi Colwill and Tosin Adarabioyo, as well as midfielders Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia.
Napoli vs. Chelsea Lineups: Predicted Starting XI’s
This is how we think the two teams will lineup at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Napoli predicted lineup to play Chelsea
Meret (GK) – Di Lorenzo, Buongiorno, Juan – Spinazzola, Lobotka, McTominay, Gutierrez; Vergara, Hojlund, Elmas
- Out: Milinkovic-Savic, Rrahmani, Gilmour, Mazzocchi, Anguissa, De Bruyne, Politano, Neres
- Doubtful: N/A
- Suspension: N/A
Chelsea predicted lineup to play Napoli
Sanchez (GK) – Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella – James, Caicedo – Estevao, Fernandez, Neto – Pedro
- Out: Colwill, Adarabioyo, Essugo, Lavia
- Doubtful: Jorgensen, Palmer
- Suspension: Mudryk
Napoli vs. Chelsea Odds
- Napoli to win: 3.05 with Dafabet
- Chelsea to win: 2.31
- Draw: 3.60
How to watch Napoli vs. Chelsea: Live Stream, TV Channel
- Date: Thursday, January 29
- Venue: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy
- Time: 1:30 p.m IST
- TV/Stream: SONY LIV