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Played
February 21, 2012 2:45 PM EST
Stadio San Paolo — Napoli
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo
Attendance: 52495
February 21, 2012 2:45 PM EST
Stadio San Paolo — Napoli
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo
Attendance: 52495
Champions League Preview: Napoli - Chelsea
The hosts are hoping to maintain a 16-year unbeaten home record in European competition in the chase for a maiden Champions League quarterfinal.
By Joe Wright
| PROBABLE LINE-UPS |
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NAPOLI
 De Sanctis Aronica, Campagnaro, Cannavaro Maggio, Inler, Gargano, Dossena Hamsik, Lavezzi Cavani |
CHELSEA
 Cech Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Bosingwa Essien, Meireles, Ramires Mata, Sturridge, Torres |
Napoli has 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 is an attacking force to be reckoned with and will likely pose a serious threat to a somewhat-beleaguered Chelsea defense.
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 has twice before played host to English sides – the club drew 0-0 with Liverpool in last season’s Europa League group stages, before its 2-1 win over Manchester City earlier in this season’s Champions League.
- It has not lost a match at Stadio San Paolo since it 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 its miserly defense: the team conceded a goal apiece against City and group-winner
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 Torres (pictured right) has managed just two goals in nine Champions League games for Chelsea, while Napoli hitman Edinson Cavani has netted four times in six appearances in his maiden season in the competition.
- Chelsea is competing in the last 16 of the Champions League for the ninth season in a row.
- The English team has 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, its record reads much better: it has 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 semifinal.
- Chelsea has notched 53 attempts on goal so far in this season’s competition – only Barcelona and Real Madrid have managed more.
- Conversely, Napoli has managed just 18 – the lowest total in the competition, with the exception of Turkish side Trabzonspor.
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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Napoli 1-2 Chelsea
- 17.41 %
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Napoli 2-1 Chelsea
- 12.23 %
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Napoli 2-0 Chelsea
- 11.9 %
| UEFA Champions League (UCL) | Mar 14, 2012 | Chelsea 4 - Napoli 1 |
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| UEFA Champions League (UCL) | Feb 21, 2012 | Napoli 3 - Chelsea 1 |
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Napoli
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| May 20, 2012 | Juventus 0 - Napoli 2 | ITAC |
| May 13, 2012 | Napoli 2 - Siena 1 | ITA1 |
| May 6, 2012 | Bologna 2 - Napoli 0 | ITA1 |
| May 1, 2012 | Napoli 2 - Palermo 0 | ITA1 |
| Apr 28, 2012 | AS Roma 2 - Napoli 2 | ITA1 |
Chelsea
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| May 19, 2012 | Bayern 1 - Chelsea 1 | UCL |
| May 13, 2012 | Chelsea 2 - Blackburn 1 | EPL |
| May 8, 2012 | Liverpool 4 - Chelsea 1 | EPL |
| May 5, 2012 | Liverpool 1 - Chelsea 2 | FA |
| May 2, 2012 | Chelsea 0 - Newcastle 2 | EPL |
| 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
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lionel Messi
Striker Barcelona |
14 | 4 |
|
Mario Gomez
Striker FC Bayern München |
13 | 0 |
|
Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker Real Madrid |
10 | 2 |
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Karim Benzema
Striker Real Madrid |
7 | 0 |
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Didier Drogba
Striker Chelsea |
6 | 0 |