Liverpool head to Italy to face off with Champions League Group E rivals Napoli on Tuesday night. The two famous football clubs clashed in last season’s competition with the Reds pulling off a dramatic group stage win at Anfield to progress to the knockout round.
Napoli and Liverpool are the cream of the crop in Group E and are favoured to reach the knockout stage at the expense of Red Bull Salzburg and Genk. Liverpool are ½ to win the group while Napoli are 7/4, according to major sportsbooks.
Liverpool head into the Champions League atop of the Premier League. They are the only team with a 100% winning record in the Premier League and are yet to drop points. The Reds came from behind to defeat Newcastle United on Saturday to push their lead at the top of the league to five points.
They did suffer an injury in the fixture as forward Divock Origi was substituted in the first half with an ankle issue. Origi will not travel to Naples as Rhian Brewster has been called up from the under-23 team to take his place.
The Reds at Stadio San Paolo 🙌 pic.twitter.com/GBTL2pr1dC— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 16, 2019
The Reds at Stadio San Paolo 🙌 pic.twitter.com/GBTL2pr1dC
While Liverpool are flying high in England, Napoli are sixth in Serie A with six points from nine. A win over Fiorentina was followed by a dramatic loss to Juventus. Carlo Ancelotti’s team rebounded at the weekend, however, collecting a victory over Sampdoria.
Liverpool went to Napoli last season in the group stage and lost 1-0. The Reds were off form on their group stage Champions League travels. Despite playing poorly throughout the night, Liverpool nearly left with a draw only to concede a 90th-minute goal to Lorenzo Insigne.
Jurgen Klopp has three players sidelined with injuries along with Origi. Alisson Becker, Naby Keita, and Nathaniel Clyne are all out. Alisson and Keita should be back in the next few weeks based on initial timelines.
Ancelotti has his own injury headaches ahead of the first group stage match. Captain Insigne strained a muscle against Juventus three weeks ago. He is still recovering from the issue.
Striker Arkadiusz Milik is also expected to miss the fixture. Milik is set to re-join first-team training on Monday morning meaning he won’t be match fit for Tuesday’s clash at the San Paolo.
Liverpool go into the fixture the in-form team. However, they will remember the 5-0 thrashing Napoli gave them in preseason. That was a completely different Liverpool team to the won currently playing in the Premier League.
Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have combined for 10 goals in all competitions this season. Meanwhile, Roberto Firmino has been brilliant picking passes and cutting through defences. He has three Premier League assists.
The Reds should start the Champions League strongly with a victory against Napoli with both teams scoring and over 2.5 goals scored.