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Liverpool will be hoping that their recent domestic woes do not transfer over to the European scene when they face Napoli in their first Champions League Group A encounter on Wednesday.
The two teams resume hostilities at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona before facing Ajax and Rangers in Group A, with the Partenopei having a far stronger start to the league season.
Luciano Spalletti’s team returned to winning ways against Lazio after missing four points against Fiorentina and Lecce.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored his fourth Serie A goal of the season to give Napoli all three points. Mattia Zaccagni’s fourth-minute opening put Napoli down, but Kim Min-header jae’s before halftime tied the game.
Georgia’s golden kid Kvaratskhelia has adapted to Serie A with aplomb, and Napoli’s expectations for the Champions League could scarcely be higher.
Napoli leads Serie A with 11 points after 15 games, ahead of Scudetto holders AC Milan on goal difference. The Partenopei are preparing for their first Champions League group stage participation since 2019-20.
Napoli have lost two successive Europa League last-32 matches against Granada and Barcelona, although they are 8-0 at home in the Champions League since November 2017.
Six-time European winners have only won two of six games, leaving them eighth in the rankings and six points behind Arsenal.
Liverpool haven’t won any of their three away games in the Premier League so far, but they won all six of their Champions League games on the road last season before losing to Real Madrid.
On the football, Carlo Ancelotti and his Blancos proved their continental savvy in a mirror copy of 2018 final.
Liverpool and Napoli met in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 Champions League group stages, but the Reds only won one of those games and have failed to score in all three trips to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Hirving Lozano was stretchered off following a first-half collision of heads with Adam Marusic, but tests revealed no facial fractures and he will play here.
Matteo Politano should deputize alongside Kvaratskhelia in the final third, while Giacomo Raspadori is on standby after Victor Osimhen missed team training owing to a muscle ailment.
Diego Demme needs extra time to heal from a fractured foot, but Spalletti is otherwise well-stocked for the match. The 63-year-old has previously coached Roma, Zenit St. Petersburg, and Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Spalletti will wear his arm in a sling after fracturing his shoulder earlier this week.
Fabio Carvalho was hauled out with a dead leg at halftime on Saturday, and he has been left out of Liverpool’s squad along with Curtis Jones (shin).
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