Wolfsburg need a full-blown miracle to knock out Napoli when they visit the Stadio San Paolo on Thursday. The Italians secured a comfortable 4-1 victory in Germany last week, all they need to do is keep cool and finish the job in front of their own fans.
Head coach Rafael Benitez has already won this competition on two occasions, with Valencia in 2004 and with Chelsea in 2013, he definitely fancies his chances of doing it again after the impressive first-leg performance. They haven't been equally impressive in the Serie A though, they fell to fourth place after losing two games in March and then another one to third-placed Roma at the beginning of April. Benitez might choose to rest some of his key players given the first-leg result, but Michu and Walter Gargano will definitely miss out through injury.
Wolfsburg have been rock-solid in the Europa League until last week, knocking out Sporting Lisbon and then Inter Milan. They need something bigger than a 3-0 win to advance to the last four, and Napoli have never conceded more than three goals this season. However, Wolfsburg have been impressive in the Bundesliga, where they are almost certain of finishing second behind runaway leaders Bayern Munich. Wolfsburg will be without Aaron Hunt due to a knee injury.
Probable line-ups:
Napoli: Andujar - Maggio, Albiol, Britos, Ghoulam - David Lopez, Inler, Callejon, Gabbidiani, Insigne - Higuain
Wolfsburg: Benaglio - Vieirinha, Naldo, Knoche, Rodriguez - Gustavo, Guilavogui, Caligiuri, De Bruyne, Schürrle - Dost
My prediction: Napoli to win 3-2.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Napoli win - 2.25 Draw - 3.75 Wolfsburg win - 3.20
timidi 8 years ago
Napoli is in the semi finals of Europa league. After first match all was clear who will be in next round and this march was only about resting players and getting ready for next matches. Napoli had a lot of luck in draw and they will play against Dnipro in semi final. That won't be easy of course but for sure it is easier...
Napoli is in the semi finals of Europa league. After first match all was clear who will be in next round and this march was only about resting players and getting ready for next matches. Napoli had a lot of luck in draw and they will play against Dnipro in semi final. That won't be easy of course but for sure it is easier than Sevilla or Fiorentina. I think that Napoli will play in final and we will see will they win trophy.
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seculla
8 years ago
Wolfsburg played very good during the first half. They've literally outplayed Napoli. They had many chances and many shots on Napoli's goal but they didn't score. In second half, the Italian squad "woke up" and they scored two goals. At that point everything was clear, but Wolfsburg scored two goals in just three minutes,...
Wolfsburg played very good during the first half. They've literally outplayed Napoli. They had many chances and many shots on Napoli's goal but they didn't score. In second half, the Italian squad "woke up" and they scored two goals. At that point everything was clear, but Wolfsburg scored two goals in just three minutes, but anyway the aggregate result was so big on Napoli's side and Napoli will face Dnipro in semi final.
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rikimartin4444_115925
8 years ago
Great game we watched last night. Many top players, great moves, nice actions and goals. The atmosphere in the stands was impressive. Napoli tied excellent results lately and are on track to win a European trophy. On the bench have a coach who knows how to do it, and who has won the Europa League and Champions League. For...
Great game we watched last night. Many top players, great moves, nice actions and goals. The atmosphere in the stands was impressive. Napoli tied excellent results lately and are on track to win a European trophy. On the bench have a coach who knows how to do it, and who has won the Europa League and Champions League. For Wolfsburg this was a good campaign although disappointed in the two matches.
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rikimartin4444_115925
8 years ago
Napoli and Wolfsburg will play another interesting match tonight. Napoli is a great advantage, and I think that will be able to certify the passage to the semifinals. Wolfsburg is necessary to achieve at least three goals to get back into the game. I think they are not good enough to do that so I think Napoli will play...
Napoli and Wolfsburg will play another interesting match tonight. Napoli is a great advantage, and I think that will be able to certify the passage to the semifinals. Wolfsburg is necessary to achieve at least three goals to get back into the game. I think they are not good enough to do that so I think Napoli will play in the semifinals. My prediction 1-1 draw.
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sharpe
8 years ago
This rematch will be a formality after the first game result. Probably nobody expected the end result from the first one and Wolfsburg really can't do much except for trying to play a good football for their honour and their fans. Napoli just have to stay calm and they will be in the next round.
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seculla
8 years ago
I didn't expected that bad game from Wolfsburg, even less on their own stadium. Napoli got a big win in Germany wit 1:4 and they are with one leg in a semi finals. But when you are playing with some German team nothing is over until the referee's last wistle. I expect very attacking football from Wolfsburg and I'm pretty...
I didn't expected that bad game from Wolfsburg, even less on their own stadium. Napoli got a big win in Germany wit 1:4 and they are with one leg in a semi finals. But when you are playing with some German team nothing is over until the referee's last wistle. I expect very attacking football from Wolfsburg and I'm pretty sure that it will be very interesting game.
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Johnajax 8 years ago
I think that we all know who will go in the next round of Europa league because Napoli won in first match in Germany 1-4 and now Wolfsburg have mission impossible. So I think that tonight Rafa Benitez will try to rest his players and prepare for next fixture in Seria A where they need points to grab champions league.
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