Napoli-Eintracht Frankfurt is a match valid for the return leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League and is played on Wednesday at 21:00: TV, formations, predictions.
Napoli are close to a historic goal. No, this time the Scudetto has nothing to do with it. In fact, the Azzurri have never made it into the small club of Europe’s top eight, not even in Maradona’s time. And now they are a stone’s throw away from filling this gap. In a sensational season, which could give them the tricolour 33 years after the last time, Luciano Spalletti can write a piece of history in the international arena as well.
In the bedlam of Frankfurt three weeks ago, there was no history. The 0-2 was a narrow victory for Osimhen and his team-mates, who put in yet another luxury performance of their season. Yet things had not been looking too good, with Kvaratskhelia’s missed penalty having led to fears of the worst. But it was the Nigerian striker who dispelled those fears, swiftly depositing an assist from Lozano into the net. Osimhen literally made the German rearguard go berserk and, in the second half, it was Di Lorenzo who rounded off the scoring, bringing Napoli – and not just a little – closer to the quarter-finals. At home, the partenopei could even afford to lose by a goal, but still eliminate Oliver Glasner’s Eintracht. Spalletti and his men, meanwhile, gave another show of strength last Saturday against Atalanta, proving that the narrow defeat to Lazio seven days earlier was just an incident
Eintracht can’t win anymore
Two-nil to Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta, a victory topped off by a goal from the overflowing Georgian that has gone around the world: an almost Maradonian gesture in which Kvaratskhelia dribbled through the entire Orbadian defence before slotting the ball into the Dea goal.
Trapp, Eintracht goalkeeper
It is now eighteen points ahead of second place again: the countdown has started. The Tuscan coach, however, wants no distractions. Neither does he trust Eintracht Frankfurt, who, with one foot and a half out of the cup, will try to overturn the first leg defeat in the knowledge that they have nothing to lose. The drubbing against Napoli in any case seems to have psychologically affected the Adlers, who have been unable to win in the Bundesliga for three games now, losing contact with fourth place, five points behind. They lost the direct clash with Leipzig and drew with Wolfsburg and Stuttgart, scoring on both occasions. Nothing is compromised yet, but the league table is starting to become worrying: Glasner’s men are sixth and forced to chase, having to deal with a defence that is conceding too many goals.
Napoli v Eintracht Frankfurt: latest line-up news
Spalletti rejoins starting goalkeeper Meret, who was replaced by Gollini in the clash with Atalanta. The Azzurri goalkeeper underwent tests after a wrist problem and will be available against Eintracht. Along with Meret, Lozano, who has also recovered, will also be back, while Mario Rui, who has not played in the last few league games due to being disqualified, could start initially from the bench. No problem for Kim: the Korean defender, who came off badly in the match against La Dea, is available.
On the other hand, Glasner must renounce his striker Kolo Muani, an important absence given that the Frenchman is one of the most prolific men. Borré will replace him: behind him, in the usual 3-4-2-1 designed by the coach, will act Gotze and Kamada. Lindstrom and Ebimbe are also unavailable. The defensive trio will consist of Hasebe, N’Dicka and Tuta.
The Prediction
Napoli always won in their last two confrontations with German teams, while in the previous two they had only won two out of twelve. The Azzurri already showed their superiority in the first leg and will again make the ‘Maradona’ factor count: at home, in the Champions League, they are unbeaten for 11 matches. They will not risk devolution in the return leg against Eintracht Frankfurt and another Parthenopean victory is highly probable. We expect Napoli to score a couple of goals this time around, but they could still keep their goals unbeaten against a side who will be without their top scorer, disqualified after a red card in Germany.
Napoli v Eintracht Frankfurt likely line-ups
- NAPOLI (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim, Olivera; Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka, Zieliński; Lozano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia.
- EINTRACHT FRANCOFORTE (3-4-2-1): Trapp; Hasebe, N’Dicka, Tuta; Knauff, Rode, Sow, Max; Götze, Kamada; Borré.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-0