Who: Napoli vs Arsenal What: UEFA Champions League Where: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples, Italy When: Wednesday at 9pm local time (1900GMT). How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up from 16:00 GMT ahead of our live text commentary stream. Napoli and Arsenal are paired in titanic tussle to open their Champions League seasons as two league winners – in Serie A and the Premier League respectively – within the last two-season faceoffs. The Gunners ended a 22-year wait to reclaim the English top flight last season, while also reaching the Champions League final where they were defeated by Paris Saint-Germain.
Napoli were dethroned as Italian champions by Inter Milan last season, but retain a squad capable of striking fear into any side in Europe. Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the mouth-watering matchup. As the defending Serie A champion last season, Napoli was eliminated in the league phase after finishing 30th of the 36 teams in the Champions League. Massimiliano Allegri replaced Antonio Conte as head coach after last season. “We need to get 12 points to secure qualification,” Allegri said. “We know we’re up against a team that has just won the Premier League and reached the final of this competition. [Arsenal manager Mikel] Arteta has done well to get his defence organized and they concede very few goals. “I had the fortune of [coaching] in two finals but I lost both of them,” Allegri said, referring to when he was at Juventus and the 2015 and 2017 finals, which were won by Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively.
Napoli has lost two straight in Serie A, getting beat by Como and Inter Milan – going down 3-2 to the latter at the weekend. Arsenal are on a four-game winning streak to start their latest campaign. The Gunners beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield – the English season opener between the previous season’s league and cup winners – to start the run. Coventry, Aston Villa and Chelsea have been downed in the league, in what has been a formidable start.
Nine goals have been scored so far, with only one conceded by the team not only regarded as the best defence in the world, but also the favourites lift the Champions League trophy. The Opta supercomputer has given Arsenal a 52 percent chance of winning the game, while offering Napoli only a 22 percent chance. This will be the fifth meeting between the teams with Arsenal winning three of the encounters and Napoli claiming victory in the other match. Napoli has issues in midfield for its Champions League opener against Arsenal on Wednesday, with both Scott McTominay and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa unavailable.
McTominay underwent a surgical procedure to treat an irregular heartbeat on Tuesday, while Anguissa has a physical issue. “In midfield we will play three between (Kevin) De Bruyne, (Billy) Gilmour, (Stanislav) Lobotka and (Antonio) Vergara,” Napoli coach Allegri said Tuesday. Meret; Di Lorenzo, Marin, Rrahmani, Spinazzola; De Bruyne, Lobotka, Gilmour; Politano, Hojlund, Santos Cristhian Mosquera has not travelled for the match due to a muscular injury that kept him out of the Aston Villa game. Jurrien Timber continues his return from a groin injury and could make the bench. William Saliba remains out with a back problem.
Bruno Guimaraes, who was an unused sub at the weekend, is closing on full fitness. Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Tzolis; Havertz
