Napoli vs Benfica: Preview and Prediction

Napoli vs Benfica
UEFA Champions League – Group B
Date: Wednesday, 28th September, 2016
Kick-off: 19:45 UK.
Venue: Stadio San Paolo, Naples.

Napoli came back from behind to strike twice via Arkadiusz Milik to defeat Dynamo Kiev in the opening group game of the Champions League 2016/17 campaign. They top the group at the moment as Benfica were denied at the death by a brilliant Besiktas who held them to a 1-1 draw. There is plenty at stakes when these two meet at the San Paolo on Wednesday, which could be also tipped as the clash for first two spots in the Group B of the competition

Napoli vs Benfica: Head-to-Head stats

The lone meeting between these two sides came during the e 2008/09 edition of UEFA Cup first round. Napoli earned a 3-2 thrilling win in the first leg at their home group. But Benfica came back strong with two second half strikes eventually overturning the deficit with a 2-0 win.

Napoli’s overall record against Portuguese clubs is 4 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses from 10 matches. And they are unbeaten at home with 3 wins and 2 draws from 5 matches.

While Benfica have met Italian oppositions on 29 occasions and lost in 15. Their record in Italy is 3 wins, 1 draw and 9 losses from 13 visits.

Napoli vs Benfica: Prediction

Both teams are very close in form analysis after 8 competitive matches into the season. They have won 6 matches and 2 draws which makes it extremely difficult to separate them on paper.

But Benfica are struggling with injuries with at least 6 of their first team players expected to miss the trip to Naples. While Napoli have an almost full strength squad at their disposal. The Portuguese side also have a poor record in Italy which indicates that the home side are more likely to edge a win here. Also Napoli have a dominant record at home in recent months, with their last defeat coming against Inter Milan in a cup match on January 2016.

As a result of the above analysis, Napoli could be backed with confidence to get a win here. We could also see them score at least twice here as they are averaging 3.5 goal per game in their last 12 matches at Stadio San Paolo.