The Champions League resumes on Tuesday for two of Europe’s most exciting teams, as both Napoli and Eintracht Frankfurt seek their first ever Champions League Quarter-Final berth.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Frankfurt enter their first Champions League Round of 16 match on a high note. After a 3-0 defeat to FC Koln in 20th round of the German Bundesliga, Die Adler (The Eagles) responded with a 2-0 victory over Werder Bremen.
Randal Kolo Muani put the match away with his tenth goal in the league and 15th in all competitions, to go along with his Bundesliga-leading 10 assists. Kolo Muani was signed in the summer on a Bosman from FC Nantes. Another key figure in the Frankfurt squad is Mario Götze, who returned to Germany from PSV Eindhoven. The 30-year-old has amassed seven assists in 2,430 minutes in all competitions.
Frankfurt will continue to rely on their young talent, including:
- 23-year-old Evan Ndicka, who’s been heavily linked to Manchester United;
- 23-year-old Brazilian central defender Tuta;
- 26-year-old Djibril Sow, who has clocked more minutes than any other Frankfurt midfielder;
- 26-year-old Daichi Kamada, who is second in the team in scoring and leads the team with three goals in the Champions League; and
- 22-year-old forward Jesper Lindström, who is third in the team in scoring.
Many of those players – all but Kolo Muani and Götze – were in the starting XI when Frankfurt defeated Rangers in the Europa League final last season, through which Frankfurt qualified to the Champions League. The Eagles will look to leverage that experience to continue their magical run in Europe.
SSC Napoli
Napoli maintained their 15-point lead atop the Serie A table with a 0-2 victory over Sassuolo at the weekend, the Azzurri’s seventh consecutive victory in the league. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen continue to light up the league, scoring their 10th and 18th goals, respectively.
Napoli competed in the Champions League in seven of the previous 11 campaigns, advancing from the Group Stage on three occasions. After losses to Chelsea (2011/12), Real Madrid (2016/17) and Barcelona (2019/20), the Partenopei will try to advance to the Quarter-Finals for the first time in cub history.
After topping a group that included English giants Liverpool, Napoli are favoured to make a deep run in the competition and, for some, are more than just underdogs to win the entire tournament.
Injuries/Suspensions
Eintracht Frankfurt will be without Junior Ebimbe for a while. The midfielder suffered a high ankle sprain in a league match against Schalke, which required surgery to repair. Meanwhile, Sebastian Rode is not expected to played despite being named in Oliver Glasner’s squad list for Tuesday. The midfielder did not participate in training on Monday due to the flu.
For Napoli, Luciano Spalletti will be without Giacomo Raspadori. The forward will be out for 4-6 weeks after suffering a thigh strain in training.
Probable Formations
Manager’s Comments
Oliver Glasner:
“I’ve spent hours and hours analyzing Napoli, even during the winter break. We’ve been thinking about this match for ages now. We’ve been studying them for months and months, and they always play in the same formation, maybe they rotate in two to three [players]. But Kvara and Osimhen are obviously strong but they are not the only ones we have to limit. They have a very good defense. They did very well with Ajax, Rangers and Liverpool. I’m not saying they embarrassed them, but almost! However, they have weaknesses that we can exploit to create chances…
I think Napoli don’t play Italian football, they are anti-Italian! That’s why they dominate the table. They are aggressive, they press high and they counter-press. You don’t often see that in Italy. They defend aggressively with Kim and Rrahmani. It’s different than the other Italian teams. Napoli play differently. We’re prepared. We know how they play. Of course, we won’t have an advantage in terms of intensity.”
Luciano Spalletti:
“I know him [Glasner] well, because I had already met him when I was coach of Zenit. And there is mutual respect for the work of other coaches, including on my part. I have a series of assistants who examine the work of teams that manage to play good football. Since he won the Europa League, we have gone to see what Glasner has been up to. [He’s] a modern coach, one who knows how to press high and to start from the back. We compliment him on his football, he is doing very well in the league as well. It will be a delicate and difficult match.”
Previous Meetings
| December 6, 1994 | SSC Napoli | 0-1 | Eintracht Frankfurt |
| November 24, 1994 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 1-0 | SSC Napoli |
Match Officials
Head Official: Artur Dias
Assistants: Paulo Soares and Pedro Ribeiro
Fourth Official: Fabio Verissimo
VAR: Tiago Martins and Joao Pinhero
