Napoli return to the Champions League for the first time since 2020 with a new-look squad, while Liverpool hope to regain their form after a slow start to the EPL season.
SSC Napoli
After competing in the Europa League in the past two seasons, Napoli return to the Champions League, a competition the Partenopei competed in regularly during the 2010s.
Napoli are coming off of an impressive 1-2 victory over Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, and hope to carry that momentum into this fixture.
The first match of the Group Stage will be against a familiar foe. Napoli have drawn Liverpool in each of its last three appearances in the competition. Napoli have faired well against Liverpool at home, winning two and drawing one.
Liverpool FC
Liverpool have had a difficult start to the 2022/23 EPL campaign. With two wins, three draws and one loss, they currently seventh in the table, six points behind league leaders Arsenal FC and five points behind Manchester City FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC.
Liverpool come into this match off a 0-0 draw against Everton FC in the Merseyside Derby, a match that could have gone either way. It was the Reds’ third draw of the season against opponents in the bottom half of the table.
Liverpool’s early-season struggles can be attributed to squad turnover and injuries. Sadio Mane was sold to Bayern Munich, with his replacement (Luis Diaz) purchased in January. Darwin Núñez, who cost Liverpool £67.5 million to be the new #9, has very different characteristics to his predecessor, Roberto Firmino, which may have contributed to a decrease in productivity for Mohammed Salad.
Injuries/Suspensions
Diego Demme returned to training on the field on Monday, but will not likely be available for this match. Hirving Lozano, who was involved in a head-to-head collision with Adam Marusic on Saturday, completed the full group training on Tuesday and will be available for the match against Liverpool.
Liverpool have been ravaged by injuries in the early stages of the season. Naby Keïta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have been left out of the squad due to injury (muscle and hamstring, respectively). Hamstring injuries have been an issue for the Merseysiders. Captain Jordan Henderson has been sidelined for three weeks with a hamstring injury while Thiago Alcântara has missed Liverpool’s last five matches with the same injury. Meanwhile, Curtin Jones has returned to training after missing the start of the domestic campaign with an eye injury.
Probable Formations
Manager’s Comments
Luciano Spalletti:
“Yes there are big differences and we’ve already said that. Just when you think you’ve done your job perfectly, when you’ve carried out every single task right to the letter, occasionally players of this ilk can pull something out of a hat and cause you problems. So in order to limit that, you need to be switched on 100% at all times, even when the ball is out of play, because you need to be able to anticipate anything happening.”
Jürgen Klopp:
“They are not young but they are good. I’m not 100% sure but I think not too long ago there was a bit of a nervous situation in Napoli when players left for different reasons. I’m really happy for the people here, but one player who always stayed is Zielinski and around him you could build again another team. It’s a really, really interesting project, I have to say. Good football, intense style, different approaches, so really good, I have to say. Spalletti is a good coach so nobody should be surprised and he’s obviously pretty relaxed about maybe some nervous things around so probably a really good fit, that’s how it looks.”
Previous Meetings
| November 27, 2019 | Liverpool FC | 1-1 | SSC Napoli |
| September 17, 2019 | SSC Napoli | 2-0 | Liverpool FC |
| December 11, 2018 | Liverpool FC | 1-0 | SSC Napoli |
| October 3, 2018 | SSC Napoli | 1-0 | Liverpool FC |
| November 4, 2010 | Liverpool FC | 3-1 | SSC Napoli |
Match Officials
Head Official: Carlos del Cerro Grande
Assistants: Pau Cebrián Devís and Guadalupe Porras Ayuso
Fourth Official: Cesar Soto Grado
VAR: Alejandro Hernández and Xavier Estrada Fernandez
Great work as always !