The Diego Maradona Stadium welcomes Eintracht Frankfurt as Napoli host the German outfit in the return leg of their last 16 Champions League clash.
The Partenopei head into the second leg with a two-goal advantage after a dominant display at Deutsche Bank Park. Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo managed to get on the scoresheet, securing a comfortable victory in Frankfurt after Kvicha Kvaratskhelia had missed a first half penalty.
Die Adler struggled to create in the home leg, yielding an expected goals value of just 0.48. They face a difficult task of trying to reduce the deficit in Campania without their star striker in Randal Kolo Muani who was sent off in Germany.
Frankfurt also head into this one without a win in any of their three matches since the first leg defeat, suffering a 2-1 defeat away to RB Leipzig before laboring to two draws – 2-2 and 1-1 up against Wolfsburg and Stuttgart respectively.
Preview
Napoli
It truly has been a season to remember for Napoli and Luciano Spalletti seems to be guiding Napoli to their first Scudetto in over 30 years. After a 1-0 defeat at home to Lazio to begin the month, the Partenopei responded with a resounding 2-0 victory over Atalanta to go 18 points clear at the top of the Serie A standings.
Napoli have suffered just two defeats in the league so far this term, dropping points in a total of four games – a testament to their incredible consistency. In Europe, they have lost just once in their seven matches – a 2-0 defeat away to Liverpool in a dead rubber match at the group stage. Spalletti and co. are aiming for more than just the Scudetto this season.
Player to Watch: Victor Osimhen
The Nigerian nightmare has been exquisite for Napoli so far this term, leading the way atop the Serie A goalscoring charts with 19 goals. Despite scoring just two goals in the Champions League so far, Osimhen will provide the biggest threat, alongside ‘Kvaradona’, running the channels and causing havoc for the Frankfurt defense.
Frankfurt
Oliver Glasner’s men have suffered a dip in form of late and have picked up just one win in their last six games in all competitions. A top four finish appears more difficult for Frankfurt now as they sit five points behind Freiburg, Union Berlin and RB Leipzig. Goals have been a heavy feature of late, nonetheless, and all three of their last Bundesliga matches have seen both teams get on the scoresheet.
Away form has been an issue for Die Adler since the return from the winter break and they have failed to find three points in any of their five matches on the road. Draws away to Freiburg and Bayern Munich appeared to be solid points but that would be followed up with an abject display away to FC Köln where they suffered a 3-0 defeat.
Player to Watch: Daichi Kamada
Without Kolo Muani leading the line, Frankfurt will have to turn to Daichi Kamada as their next-best goalscoring threat. That is what they require too – goals. The visitors know that they need to overturn the two-goal deficit to get back in with a chance of making it through the tie and having made 12 goal contributions in the Bundesliga so far this season, Kamada appears to be the best resource to do so.
? BREAKING:
Chelsea and Manchester United are trying to persuade Daichi Kamada to join them instead of Borussia Dortmund who are understood to have a verbal agreement. @SamiMokbel81_DM #MUFC ? pic.twitter.com/lgYQFYN1ZS
— UtdPlug (@UtdPlug) March 8, 2023
Team News
Goalkeeper Alex Meret suffered a sprained wrist in the warm-up prior to the Atalanta fixture at the weekend and so he is a doubt here. However, he is expected to be ready for the matchup and will likely replace backup Pierluigi Gollini in between the sticks.
Giacomo Raspadori will be unable to add to his impressive tally of four Champions League goals this term since he has been missing since the beginning of last month due to a thigh problem. On the bright side, central defender Kim Min-jae has overcome a slight calf issue that he suffered against Atalanta and will be ready to go for this one.
Spalletti will have to choose from either Hirving Lozano or Matteo Politano to feature on the right wing, with the Mexican expected to be fit once more after missing the last match due to injury. Lozano is usually the preferred choice but Politano put in a solid display against Atalanta.
The absence of Kolo Muani is the biggest talking point of this tie and the chances of Frankfurt making it past the last 16 appear extremely slim. However, both Djibril Sow and Ansgar Knauff are expected to feature after dealing with minor injuries. Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe and Jesper Lindstrom are unavailable.
Napoli vs Frankfurt Potential Lineups
Napoli (4-3-3): Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Kim Min-jae, Mario Rui; Stanislav Lobotka, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Piotr Zielinksi; Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, Victor Osimhen, Hirving Lozano
Frankfurt (3-4-2-1): Kevin Trapp; Makoto Hasebe, Evan N’Dicka, Tuta; Ansgar Knauff, Djibril Sow, Sebastian Rode, Philipp Max; Daichi Kamada, Mario Götze; Rafael Borre
Napoli vs Frankfurt Prediction
It appears that Frankfurt’s European dreams could be over here and heading to Naples already two goals down hands them a monumental task. An early goal would make things extremely interesting but Napoli should have too much quality for Glasner’s side.
Expect plenty of goals still in the second leg since Frankfurt know they have to attack the Napoli defense and have seen both teams score in four out of their last five away matches since the winter break. That will likely give the likes of Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen plenty of space to exploit to secure their spot in the last eight.
Prediction: Napoli Win