Carlo Ancelotti returns to Napoli, the city in which he coached prior to joining Real Madrid, for an early group-stage clash between the two clubs who are expected to advance from Group C.
SSC Napoli
Napoli appear to have found both their form and their fitness at just the right time. After dropping points in three consecutive league matches, Napoli responded with convincing victories over Udinese and Lecce, outsourcing their opponents 8-1.
With input from his players, Garcia adjusted his tactics, striking a balance between keeping the ball and playing direct. This has resulted in better shot selection, more shot attempts hitting the target and more balls finding the back of the goal.
The lopsided score lines have also allowed Garcia to rest key players. Victor Osimhen and Matteo Politano started on the bench against Lecce, entering the match in the second half. Meanwhile, Leo Østigård and Natan have looked solid at the back, deputizing for their injured teammates. However, Real Madrid presents an entirely different threat in attack and will present a real test for the young centre-back pairing.
Real Madrid
Despite being a club in a transition phase, Real Madrid are loaded with talent and enter this match as the leaders of La Liga. Even with the absence of Vinicius Jr for three weeks, Los Blancos managed to earn seven wins and only one loss through the first eight rounds.
Jude Bellingham has stepped up in the attacking phase, leading La Liga with six goals, many of which were match winners. The Englishman also scored the match winner in Real Madrid’s opening match of the Group Stage against Union Berlin. Though Los Merengues ran up an xG of 3.7 against the German club, the winner wasn’t scored until the fourth minute of stoppage time. Nonetheless, the play of Bellingham has made the departure of Karim Benzema more palatable, after the Frenchman joined Al-Ittihad of the Saudi Pro League in the summer.
The big question for Carlo Ancellotti is who to play in the midfield, which is stacked with world-class talent. The Italian has the enviable task of choosing three of Aurélien Tchouaméni, Federico Valverde, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Edoardo Camavinga to play behind Bellingham in the 4-3-1-2 formation.
Injuries/Suspensions
Both sides have left players out of their respective squads. For Napoli, Pierluigi Gollini remains sidelined with a hand injury, while Amir Rrahmani and Juan Jesus remain out with thigh muscle injuries.
Real Madrid are without goalkeeper Thibault Courtois and Éder Militão, both of whom tore their ACLs. Arda Güler has yet to feature due to a muscular injury, while David Alaba is expected to be out until after the October international break with a groin injury. Dani Carvajal is in doubt after limping off the pitch during Real Madrid’s training session at the Maradona on Monday.
Probable Formations
Manager’s Comments
Rudi Garcia:
“We are top of the group with Real Madrid. To avoid answering the second question, it is also the Championship that allows you to play in the Champions League every year, so we did well last match with respect to the fact that we are back in the top four and now we can totally dedicate ourselves to this great poster match against Real Madrid, one of the greatest clubs in the world with a unique list of successes. I think they won it five times in the last ten seasons, two of which were with the same great coach, who you and I know well and appreciate. And therefore, perhaps they still have more than a dozen players who played against Liverpool in the final two years ago. That means it will be a difficult match, but we have the ambition to go out onto the pitch and to do everything we can to win it.”
Carlo Ancelotti:
“We play against one of the best teams in Italy. We will play on equal terms against a high-level team with many positive individuals and it will be a very serious match. We need to repeat the performance we had against Girona, which can certainly give us suggestions for tomorrow’s match…Returning to Napoli I think back to the period I spent here, which had really good moments, living in a wonderful city. There were good moments and also bad moments but in the end, I will always remember it as a positive experience. As far as the match is concerned, it is clear that it is certainly the most difficult match of the group phase for us, and the reality is that I don’t want to say that we are used to this type of match, but in short, the Real Madrid shirt weighs on everyone, it weighs on us in a positive way, but it also weighs on the opponents. Real Madrid is an institution in this competition and I believe this helps.”
Previous Meetings
| March 7, 2017 | SSC Napoli | 1-3 | Real Madrid |
| February 15, 2017 | Real Madrid | 3-1 | SSC Napoli |
| September 30, 1987 (European Cup) | SSC Napoli | 1-1 | Real Madrid |
| September 16, 1987 (European Cup) | Real Madrid | 2-0 | SSC Napoli |
Match Officials
Head Official: Clement Turpin
Assistants: Nicolas Danos and Alexis Auger
Fourth Official: Stephanie Frappart
VAR: Jerome Brisard and Benoit Millot
