Antonio Conte is eager to prove his worth in Europe’s premier competition and take his Napoli side well into the top-24 with a win over visitors Qarabag.
Napoli returned to winning ways at the weekend in Serie A, which may have brought about some level of relief to their fans. However, there were concerns over Antonio Conte’s record in the UEFA Champions League even before the competition began, given his track record in the competition in an otherwise successful career domestically.
Napoli have so far only managed to collect four points from their opening four games, which includes a solitary win over Sporting CP. The other three include losses to Manchester City and PSV Eindhoven, with the latter thrashing them with a 6-2 scoreline, while the most recent matchday saw them draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Napoli are currently sitting right in the 24th spot, with the upcoming game against Qarabag representing a chance to climb up the table. Hence, this clash in Naples is a crucial game from Conte’s perspective to get a big win in the bag and progress in the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Qarabag will be coming to Naples with some level of confidence following their performance in the 2-2 draw against Chelsea in Baku. The Azerbaijani side took the game to the Blues and could have even secured a famous victory, but they were content with sharing the points.
Qurban Qurbanov’s side have had a decent start in this edition of the Champions League. They have so far managed victories over Copenhagen and Benfica, while losing only to Athletic Club. Their haul of seven points is comparatively better than their next opponents, and a win here would be crucial, as they can go into the next three games with confidence, with Ajax, Frankfurt and Liverpool being next.
Team News & Tactics
Napoli
Antonio Conte continues to have injury issues with his squad, as key midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa sustained a serious thigh injury while on international duty. The midfielder accompanies Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku on the sidelines, while there are significant doubts over Leonardo Spinazzola and Billy Gilmour.
The pair were not seen as ready to feature at the weekend, as the club medical staff will determine if they can play some minutes in midweek. Conte will continue with a back four with Amir Rrahmani and Alessandro Buongiorno featuring centrally, while Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Miguel Gutierrez in the full-back roles.
Eljif Elmas and Scott McTominay are pencilled in to start alongside Stanislav Lobotka in midfield. David Neres deserves a start after his brace at the weekend, with Matteo Politano and Rasmus Hojlund joining the Brazilian in the attacking setup.
Probable Lineuip (4-3-3): Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Gutierrez; Elmas, Lobotka, McTominay; Politano, Hojlund, Neres
Qarabag
Qurban Qurbanov might not make any changes to the lineup from the draw against Chelsea, as at least ten of those players have played in each of their first four UEFA Champions League games. The manager will continue to deploy his usual style with a back four and a midfield pivot.
Bahlul Mustafazada and Kevin Medina are the preferred choices in central defence, with Matheus Silva and Elvin Cafarguliyev in the full-back roles for the Azerbaijan outfit.
Pedro Bicalho and Marko Jankovic will feature in the central midfield roles, with their top goalscorer in the Champions League, Leandro Andrade, playing in the No.10 role behind the striker Camilo Duran. Kady Borges and Abdellah Zoubir will be the ones managing the action on either wing, as Qarabag will hope to trouble this Napoli side.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kochalski; Silva, Mustafazada, Medina, Cafarquilyev; Bicalho, Jankovic; Borges, Andrade, Zoubir; Duran
Key Stats
- Napoli will face a team from Azerbaijan for the first time. The Patenopei have only one win from their four games in the Champions League.
- Qarabag are winless in their six games against Italian sides in Europe to date, suffering defeats in five of those matches (D1). The only two to take place in the UEFA Champions League were against AS Roma in 2017/18, losing home (1-2) and away (0-1).
- Napoli have won just one of their last six matches in the UEFA Champions League (D2 L3), while conceding over two goals per game on average across these fixtures (2.2 – 13 in total). They did keep a clean sheet in the most recent one, however, drawing 0-0 with Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 4.
- Napoli have only lost one of their last 19 home matches in the UEFA Champions League (W11 D7), with that lone defeat coming to Real Madrid in October 2023 (2-3); the team who would go on to lift the trophy that season (2023/24).
- Rasmus Hojlund has scored seven goals in nine appearances in the UEFA Champions League. Since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, his shot conversion rate (47% – 7/15) is the best of any player with 10+ shots attempted in the competition.
Player to Watch
David Neres
All the talk of Napoli’s UEFA Champions League campaign is about Antonio Conte’s inability to perform well in the competition. Despite their precarious position in the standings, they need a big win to climb up the table, and need players in inspired form.
Neres, following his brace at the weekend, will get his start in the team, and all eyes will be on him to keep performing similarly. Qarabag could prove tricky, but the Brazilian could have a platform to get another big display under his belt and help Napoli to get into a stronger position.
Prediction
Napoli 2-1 Qarabag
Qarabag showed with their display against Chelsea that they can compete at the highest level, irrespective of the opposition. That performance should fill them with confidence ahead of the trip to Naples, although they will be put to the test away from home at a daunting venue.
Napoli, in need of a win, may also have some momentum with their win at the weekend, as Conte will aim to take that into midweek. The hosts are widely expected to collect the points in this one, and climb up the table into a position of relevance in their bid to finish in the top-24 at the very least.
