Italian club Napoli host French Ligue One side Nice on Wednesday night in the Champions League play-offs, as both teams look to take an advantage into the second leg of this competition.
Napoli finished third in Serie A last season to make it to this stage of the Champions League and will be confident of making it to the group stages of the competition.
Maurizio Sarri’s side have lost the last two games in the Champions League, as European champions, Real Madrid eliminated the Azzurri in the knockout stages of the competition. However, prior to their tie with the Spanish giants the home side had lost just one of their previous six games in Europe’s elite competition.
The Italian side’s recent home record in this competition is not great, as they have failed to win any of their last three games in the Champions League. Prior to that three game run, Napoli had won seven of their nine home games in this competition. The home side will be confident of recording a win in this clash.
Nice have very little experience in the Champions League. The French side made it through to this round by recording an away goals victory over Ajax in the last round. Both games finished in draws against the Dutch side, but a 2-2 draw at the Amsterdam Arena was enough to set up this play-off clash.
The tie with Ajax was, in fact, their only venture into the Champions League. Nice have started their Ligue One campaign in poor fashion, losing both their opening games in the French top-flight. Lucien Favre’s side are underdogs in this clash and will have to be at their best to win this tie.
Forebet predicts that Napoli will end their three-game winless run on home soil in the Champions League and take a crucial advantage into the second leg in two weeks’ time.