Prediction: Napoli vs Chelsea

20th February 2012

Napoli appear to have returned to form in just the right time for their Champions League clash with Chelsea, and the Partenopei will fancy their chances against the more illustrious opponents. The Blues, on the other hand, are going through a very rough patch at the moment and they need to show a massive improvement in order to escape defeat at San Paolo.

During the last couple of years Napoli have been striving to return to old glory days and it looks as though the Azzurri are on the right path. Walter Mazzarri’s side not only achieved a 3rd-place finish in Serie A last term, but they proved their worth against some of the best teams in Italy, hinting that they could enter the race for the league title this season. However, in spite of reinforcing the squad over the summer, the Partenopei failed to mount a serious title challenge, although they did well to pip Manchester City to the place in the Champions League knockout stages. After several under-par performances, Walter Mazzarri’s side showed a massive improvement of late, especially at the back, as they kept four successive clean sheets in Serie A, so there are no doubts that out-of-form Chelsea are likely to find it hard to break their rock-solid defence. The attacking trio of Lavezzi, Hamsik and Cavani hasn’t been at their best of late and with Mazzarri set to adopt a cautious approach, their attacking qualities could be sacrificed for team’s sake. Salvatore Aronica is expected to replace Hugo Campagnaro in the starting line-up, but keeper Morgan De Sanctis should return.

Chelsea are finding it hard to live up to the expectations this season and Andre Villas-Boas’s side are clearly playing way below their potential at the moment. The four-match winless run in English Premier League is threatening to hurt team’s top 4 bid, whereas the FA Cup draw with Birmingham was the last thing the Blues needed before such an important game. The Portuguese manager has no choice but to try and rally the troops ahead of the trip to Naples, but it seems that the players no longer trust their boss and they don’t even look confident in their own abilities. The return of Michael Essien and Jose Bosingwa is expected to help patch up the shaky back line and if John Terry completes his recovery from a knee injury to start against Napoli, the Blues will be looking decent enough at the back. With his players completely out of confidence at the moment, Andre Villas-Boas is aware he cannot afford to attack their opponents, but his side will rather concentrate on defending their own goal and try to hit the hosts on the break.

Conclusion

The stakes are high at San Paolo and it is for that reason that I do not expect to see an open game, at least in the first half. Both sides will play it cautiously in the first period before adopting a more positive approach in the second, and odds on no goals in the first half do seem tempting.

Verdict: No goals in the first half

Best Odds: 13/8

Bookmaker: bet365