|
|
Played
February 21, 2012 7:45 p.m. GMT
Stadio San Paolo — Napoli
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo
Attendance: 52495
February 21, 2012 7:45 p.m. GMT
Stadio San Paolo — Napoli
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo
Attendance: 52495
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Napoli | 2.15 | 1.01 | 2.15 | 1.00 | 2.20 | 2.25 | 1.02 | 2.25 | 2.20 |
| Draw | 3.30 | 9.50 | 3.30 | 29.00 | 3.25 | 3.25 | 15.00 | 3.35 | 3.20 |
| Chelsea | 3.55 | 41.00 | 3.30 | 56.00 | 3.40 | 3.25 | 40.00 | 3.45 | 3.25 |
Napoli - Chelsea Preview: The Blues look to end a run of one win in six against the Serie A side
The hosts are hoping to maintain a 16-year unbeaten home record in European competition in the chase for a maiden Champions League quarter-final
By Joe Wright
| PROBABLE LINE-UPS |
|
NAPOLI
 De Sanctis Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Aronica Maggio, Inler, Gargano, Dossena Lavezzi, Hamsik Cavani |
CHELSEA
 Cech Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Bosingwa Essien, Meireles, Ramires Mata, Sturridge, Torres |
Napoli have a largely full strength squad to choose from ahead of the clash in Naples – and most importantly, the ‘Big Three’ of Marek Hamsik, Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi are all expected to start. Uruguay international Cavani netted twice to condemn Manchester City to an early exit from the competition, and the hosts will look to their talismanic forward to fire them past another English side.
With Hamsik starting in midfield alongside Lavezzi behind Cavani, Napoli are an attacking force to be reckoned with and will likely pose a serious threat to a somewhat-beleaguered Chelsea defence.
It’s a big night for Gary Cahill, who will likely start should John Terry fail to reach full fitness, but Andre Villas-Boas will be relieved to have both Michael Essien and Ramires available for selection to shore up the centre of midfield. Frank Lampard has overcome a calf injury sustained against Norwich, and is likely to be in the squad against Walter Mazzari’s men, but Ashley Cole is expected to miss out.
Up front, both Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata should start behind Fernando Torres, who now more than ever needs to rediscover goalscoring form if the Blues are to leave Italy with a priceless away goal.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
- Napoli have twice before played host to English sides – they drew 0-0 with Liverpool in last season’s Europa League group stages, before their 2-1 win over Manchester City earlier in this season’s Champions League.
- They have not lost a match at Stadio San Paolo since they returned to European competition in 2008 after a 13-year absence. The last side to record a victory in Naples was Eintracht Frankfurt, way back in December 1994.
- Part of this fearsome home record is down to their miserly defense: they conceded a goal apiece against City and group-winners
Bayern Munich, which ended a run of 573 minutes without conceding at home in Europe.
- After a run of just one win in six Serie ‘A’ matches, Mazzari’s men have recorded two wins on the bounce – the latest an impressive 3-0 success at Fiorentina.
- The much-maligned Fernando Torres (pictured right) has managed just two goals in nine Champions League games for Chelsea, whilst Napoli hitman Edinson Cavani has netted four times in six appearances in his maiden season in the competition.
- Chelsea are competing in the last 16 of the Champions League for the ninth season in a row.
- They have a disappointing record against Italian sides, having won only once in seven visits to Italy – the last a 4-0 thrashing of Lazio in the 2003/04 season.
- In knockout contests, however, their record reads much better: they have won two of three two-legged ties against Serie A opponents, against Juventus in 2008/09 and and Vicenza Calcio in the 1997/98 Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final.
- Chelsea have notched 53 attempts on goal so far in this season’s competition – only Barcelona and Real Madrid have managed more.
- Conversely, Napoli have managed just 18 – the lowest total in the competition, with the exception of Turkish side Trabzonspor.
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
SSC Napoli 1-2 Chelsea FC
- 17.41 %
-
SSC Napoli 2-1 Chelsea FC
- 12.23 %
-
SSC Napoli 2-0 Chelsea FC
- 11.9 %
| UEFA Champions League (UCL) | 14 Mar 2012 | Chelsea FC 4 - SSC Napoli 1 |
|
| UEFA Champions League (UCL) | 21 Feb 2012 | SSC Napoli 3 - Chelsea FC 1 |
|
SSC Napoli
   |
||
| 20 May 2012 | Juventus 0 - SSC Napoli 2 | ITAC |
| 13 May 2012 | SSC Napoli 2 - Siena 1 | ITA1 |
| 6 May 2012 | Bologna 2 - SSC Napoli 0 | ITA1 |
| 1 May 2012 | SSC Napoli 2 - Palermo 0 | ITA1 |
| 28 Apr 2012 | Roma 2 - SSC Napoli 2 | ITA1 |
Chelsea FC
|
||
| 19 May 2012 | FC Bayern München 1 - Chelsea FC 1 | UCL |
| 13 May 2012 | Chelsea FC 2 - Blackburn Rovers 1 | EPL |
| 8 May 2012 | Liverpool 4 - Chelsea FC 1 | EPL |
| 5 May 2012 | Liverpool 1 - Chelsea FC 2 | FA |
| 2 May 2012 | Chelsea FC 0 - Newcastle United 2 | EPL |
| Returns: | Napoli £22.50 |
|
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 | |
| Returns: | Draw £290.00 |
|
Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 | |
| Returns: | Chelsea £560.00 |
|
Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
| 1 | Morgan De Sanctis | Goalkeeper |
| 6 | Salvatore Aronica | Defender |
| 14 | Hugo Armando Campagnaro | Defender |
| 18 | Juan Camilo Zúñiga | Defender |
| 28 | Paolo Cannavaro | Defender |
| 11 | Christian Maggio | Midfielder |
| 17 | Marek Hamsik | Midfielder |
| 23 | W. Gargano | Midfielder |
| 88 | Gökhan Inler | Midfielder |
| 7 | Edinson Cavani | Striker |
| 22 | Ezequiel Lavezzi | Striker |
| 83 | Antonio Rosati | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Gianluca Grava | Defender |
| 8 | Andrea Dossena | Defender |
| 21 | Federico Fernández | Defender |
| 85 | Miguel Angel Britos | Defender |
| 20 | Blerim Dzemaili | Midfielder |
| 29 | Goran Pandev | Striker |
| 1 | Petr Cech | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Branislav Ivanovic | Defender |
| 4 | David Luiz | Defender |
| 17 | José Bosingwa | Defender |
| 24 | Gary Cahill | Defender |
| 7 | Ramires | Midfielder |
| 15 | Florent Malouda | Midfielder |
| 16 | Raúl Meireles | Midfielder |
| 10 | Juan Mata | Striker |
| 11 | Didier Drogba | Striker |
| 23 | Daniel Sturridge | Striker |
| 22 | Ross Turnbull | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Ashley Cole | Defender |
| 8 | Frank Lampard | Midfielder |
| 12 | John Obi Mikel | Midfielder |
| 5 | Michael Essien | Midfielder |
| 9 | Fernando Torres | Striker |
| 21 | Salomon Kalou | Striker |
Results
Times In GMT
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lionel Messi
Striker Barcelona |
14 | 4 |
|
Mario Gomez
Striker Bayern |
13 | 0 |
|
Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker Real Madrid |
10 | 2 |
|
Karim Benzema
Striker Real Madrid |
7 | 0 |
|
Didier Drogba
Striker Chelsea |
6 | 0 |