UEFA Champions League: Benfica vs Napoli preview

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December 5th, 2016
Back UEFA Champions League: Benfica vs Napoli preview

Benfica and Napoli will fight for qualification from Group B when they meet at Estadio da Luz on Tuesday. Both teams know that a draw or a defeat could see them lose their qualification spot to Besiktas, who are just one point behind in third place and who are playing at the same time at Dynamo Kiev. The reverse fixture produced a spectacular 4-2 victory for Napoli, who also hold an encouraging three wins to one advantage in the head to head record between the two sides.

Benfica need to win this match in order to be sure of qualifying, in case of a draw and a victory for Besiktas it's Napoli who would pull through thanks to their 4-2 victory at home. Benfica had an eleven-game unbeaten streak in all competitions halted last week when they lost 2-1 at Maritimo in the Portuguese top-flight. They are still top of the table though, and winning the Champions League group would give them a further confidence boost. They have some injury problems, especially at left-back, as both Eliseu and Alex Grimaldo are out, along with talented young midfielder Andre Horta.

Napoli had a flying start in this season's Champions League, back-to-back wins against Dynamo Kiev and Benfica appeared to confirm them as group favourites. But then they lost at home to Besiktas and recorded two consecutive draws to further hinder their qualification chances. That said, a draw would put them through regardless of what Besiktas do in Ukraine. Last weekend they secured a solid 3-0 Serie A victory against Inter, a much-needed relief after a home draw against Sassuolo before that. Arkadiusz Milik remains the only injury concern for head coach Maurizio Sarri.

Probable line-ups:

Benfica: Moraes - Nelsinho, Luisao, Lindelof, Almeida - Salvio, Pizzi, Fejsa, Cervi - Guedes, Mitroglou

Napoli: Reina - Hysaj, Chiriches, Koulibaly, Ghoulam - Hamsik, Jorginho, Allan - Callejon, Mertens, Insigne

My prediction: 1-1 draw.

Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:

Benfica win - 2.55 Draw - 3.50 Napoli win - 2.90

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