Wolfsburg and Napoli clash on Thursday when they meet at the Volkswagen Arena in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals. The Germans were quite impressive in the previous round when they knocked out Inter Milan while Napoli defeated Russian side Dynamo Moscow. The two sides have never met before.
Wolfsburg grabbed a 5-2 aggregate victory over Inter Milan in the previous round, winning 3-1 at home and 2-1 in Italy. Their recent form has been impressive, they are unbeaten in seven matches and won six of them. They are second in the Bundesliga, 10 points behind runaway leaders Bayern Munich. Last time out they recorded a 2-0 away win at Hamburg, with Josua Guilavogui and Daniel Caligiuri providing the goals. Wolfsburg will be without midfielder Aaron Hunt due to a knee injury.
Napoli recorded a 3-1 aggregate victory over Dynamo Moscow in the previous round, with a win at home in the first leg and a goalless draw in Russia. This will be a special occasion for the Italian team for two reasons: the match will be played on Rafael Benitez's 55th birthday and Napoli have not reached the quarter-finals of an European competition since the days of Diego Maradona, in 1989. Walter Gargano and Michu are unavailable for Napoli.
Probable line-ups:
Wolfsburg: Benaglio - Vieirinha, Naldo, Knoche, Rodriguez - Guilavogui, Arnold - Perisic, De Bruyne, Schurrle - Dost
Napoli: Andujar - Maggio, Albiol, Koulibaly, Strinic - David Lopez, De Guzman - Callejon, Hamsik, Mertens - Higuain
My prediction: Wolfsburg to win 2-1.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Wolfsburg win - 1.83 Draw - 3.90 Napoli - 4.50
galata86 9 years ago
Napoli is in great form. They play very well in last time, they won against Fiorentina 3-0, Calgari 0-3, here they won 1-4 and I think that they are top candidate for winning Europa League. They have a lot of great players, a lot of experience in Euro competitions and I think that this could be their season and they could...
Napoli is in great form. They play very well in last time, they won against Fiorentina 3-0, Calgari 0-3, here they won 1-4 and I think that they are top candidate for winning Europa League. They have a lot of great players, a lot of experience in Euro competitions and I think that this could be their season and they could win more than just one trophy.
Show morePlease enter your comment.
Your comment is added.
Shumar4life
9 years ago
Napoli showed to us real quality last night and its obvious that Rafa knows how to play this kind of matches. I will not be surprised if they manage to win this competition. Wolfsburg played very bad last night, and they will have tough task to beat Napoli away. I believe that Napoli will progress in next round after the...
Napoli showed to us real quality last night and its obvious that Rafa knows how to play this kind of matches. I will not be surprised if they manage to win this competition. Wolfsburg played very bad last night, and they will have tough task to beat Napoli away. I believe that Napoli will progress in next round after the last match
Show morePlease enter your comment.
Your comment is added.
mdacic 9 years ago
Surprise in Germany and 0-2 lead for Napoli at the half time. I don't know what is going on wit Wolfsburg but i didn't expect this. I think that in second half Wolfsburg will play better and score at least one goal and make difference smaller before next match in Italy. Napoli is on great way to semi final but is not over...
Surprise in Germany and 0-2 lead for Napoli at the half time. I don't know what is going on wit Wolfsburg but i didn't expect this. I think that in second half Wolfsburg will play better and score at least one goal and make difference smaller before next match in Italy. Napoli is on great way to semi final but is not over yet.
Show morePlease enter your comment.
Your comment is added.
sharpe
9 years ago
Wolfsburg management make a big investments in the squad for the last year and now that investment starting to pay off. The team show a stable performances in the Bundesliga and reach the quarter finals at the Europa League. I will be glad if Germans lift the cup in the end and I think they have the potential to do it.
Wolfsburg management make a big investments in the squad for the last year and now that investment starting to pay off. The team show a stable performances in the Bundesliga and reach the quarter finals at the Europa League. I will be glad if Germans lift the cup in the end and I think they have the potential to do it.
Show morePlease enter your comment.
Your comment is added.
seculla
9 years ago
These two teams, among with Sevilla and Fiorentina, are the biggest favorites when it comes to UEFA Europa League title for this season. Both teams showed that they are strong sides and both teams have many world class players in their line ups. It's bad that Napoli and Wolfsburg are playing in this stage. If you ask me,...
These two teams, among with Sevilla and Fiorentina, are the biggest favorites when it comes to UEFA Europa League title for this season. Both teams showed that they are strong sides and both teams have many world class players in their line ups. It's bad that Napoli and Wolfsburg are playing in this stage. If you ask me, these teams should play in the final this season, because they came at this stage very easy and also showed that they are playing the best football in this competition so far. I'm pretty sure that in both matches we will see many goals.
Show morePlease enter your comment.
Your comment is added.