If Liverpool wants to overtake Napoli and take first place in Group A, they must defeat them by three goals or more. The visitors, meanwhile, hope to keep their perfect record in the Champions League this year.
Liverpool defeated Ajax 3-0 in Amsterdam last week to secure their spot in the Champions League’s knockout rounds for the sixth consecutive season under Jurgen Klopp.
Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott goals after the break sealed the Reds’ advancement to the round of 16. The Reds were on the back foot for the majority of the first half before Mohamed Salah’s goal against the flow of play broke the tie three minutes before halftime.
However, Klopp’s team’s inconsistent season continued on Saturday with a 2-1 loss at home to Leeds United in the Premier League. Crysencio Summerville’s dramatic winner with just one minute left in regulation sent the away fans into raptures.
In front of a packed house at Anfield, the defeat marked Virgil van Dijk’s first Premier League defeat at home since joining the team in January 2018. It also put an end to Liverpool’s five-and-a-half-year league winning streak.
Klopp would love to avoid playing any of the potential group winners, including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain, by defeating Napoli by 3 or more goals on Tuesday, but also on present form that is an extremely tough ask.
In fact, Napoli’s win over Sassuolo on Saturday extended their winning streak to a remarkable 13 games across all competitions, and on current form, Luciano Spalletti’s team appears to be among the best in Europe this season.
With their 3-0 victory over Rangers last week, they improved to 5 wins from 5 games in the Champions League this season. They have scored a remarkable 20 goals in those wins, which is four more goals than any other team in the group stage.
Despite being in a strong position in terms of their head-to-head record with Liverpool after defeating them 4-1 on matchday one, top spot is not yet guaranteed for them, so Spalletti will be urging his players to make a statement by making life miserable for Klopp’s team.
The Neapolitans will not want to see their winning streak come to an abrupt end on such a prestigious stage, even though a draw or even a narrow defeat would not be a catastrophe given that their hard work in terms of their Champions League campaign has arguably already been done.
Liverpool Team News
Due to ongoing injuries, Liverpool will still be without Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Joel Matip, and Arthur. Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were also left off the Reds’ Champions League roster because of serious muscle problems.
James Milner, Jordan Henderson, and Ibrahima Konate are likely to start for Liverpool against Napoli in place of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, and Joe Gomez given that they have a crucial league match against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Milner, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Elliott, Henderson, Jones; Salah, Roberto Firmino, Carvalho
Napoli Team News
Salvatore Sirigu and Amir Rrahmani are likely to miss this match for Napoli due to muscle strains, and Matteo Politano may be rested as he is only one booking away from serving a one-match suspension in this competition.
Victor Osimhen, who had a hat-trick in his team’s 4-0 victory over Sassuolo at the weekend, might not be risked due to his own injury problems this year; Giovanni Simeone, who had a brace against Rangers the previous week, might be leading the line instead.
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Leo Ostigard, Kim, Rui; Ndombele, Lobotka, Elmas; Lozano, Simeone, Raspadori
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