Liverpool vs Napoli
Anfield is the place to be on Wednesday night where a place in the Round of 16 is ready and waiting for both Liverpool and Napoli.
The Reds lead Champions League Group E on nine points, one ahead of Napoli who have won two and drawn two. The winner at Anfield on Wednesday is home and hosed, but both the Reds and Gli Azzurri could be through dependant on events elsewhere in Europe.
If the other game in Group E results in anything other than an away win, then SBOBET Champions League fans can look forward to seeing both Liverpool and Napoli in the knockout stage. Genk is at home to Saltzburg on Wednesday, and the Austrian side needs a win to stay in the hunt. In Erling Braut Haaland they have a striker in red hot form, but Genk won’t rollover.
That’s probably better news for Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli who have been on a poor run of form, while the Reds are beating all comers.
Talking Points
Relentless Liverpool
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been making the point that his team’s workload is greater than his rivals, with a fixture pile-up on the way, and he’s had some support from the world players’ union Fifpro. The Reds have been scheduled to face Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on 17th December and then play in the Club World Cup in Qatar the next day.
Neither of those competitions is at the top of Klopp’s priority list as he has steered his team to a commanding position in the Premier League; they are odds on to win their first domestic title in 30 years. And he would dearly love to double that success by retaining the Champions League. To do that he desperately needs his key players to stay fit.
Klopp has been using his squad in the European matches, giving game time to Divock Origi up front and Naby Keita in midfield. And Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the winner as Liverpool beat Genk 2-1, making it three for the young winger in the Champions League.
The Reds have developed the habit of winning narrowly, (Klopp doesn’t like the phrase ‘winning ugly’). At the weekend Liverpool fought back to collect all three points with a late and scrappy effort from Roberto Firmino. And the only game in the last six where they have won by more than a single goal was a 3-1 victory over Manchester City when even the most loyal Reds fan would admit they were outplayed for much of the game and hit the Sky Blues on the break.
But that won’t worry them one bit if they keep on winning.
Stuttering Napoli
Ancelotti’s Napoli hasn’t been winning, ugly or otherwise. The free-flowing football that we have been used to seeing from Gli Azzurri in recent seasons has been absent this term, and the latest Liverpool vs Napoli betting odds don’t hold out much hope for the Italians at Anfield. They have scored six goals in the last six games, winning none.
A 1-1 draw away to AC Milan has left Napoli in seventh place in Serie A, already out of the title race and five points adrift of a top-four place. Hirving Lozano was on target in that game and he could make a start on Wednesday. The visitors will be looking towards Dries Mertens for a creative spark; he has four goals in Serie A so far this season and three in the Champions League, while Arkadiusz is the league top scorer with five.
History
These two teams have one big statistic in common, they both last won a domestic title in 1990, when Gli Azzurri topped Serie A while Liverpool won the English First Division.
It’s a stat neither is proud of, but Liverpool must be starting to believe this is their year.
The head to heads couldn’t be closer, with both sides winning three and drawing one of the seven meetings since 2010. Napoli won the opening group game in this tournament 2-0 with Mertens and Fernando Llorente on target.
But recent form couldn’t be more contrasting. While Napoli is without a win in six, the Reds have won their last six, and they have won the last nine at Anfield and are unbeaten in 13.
Betting Tip
Liverpool vs Napoli | Under 3.25 @ 1.73 | |
November 28, 04:00 (GMT+8) |
Of course, the Group E Champions League 2019 results have put both in with a big chance of progress, but Liverpool should certainly book their place in the last 16, at odds of 1.44 to win, while the draw is at 4.50 and Napoli available at 6.60.
Neither team is scoring for fun at the moment, and a 1-1 draw at 8.75 would probably suit both.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR () BETS ARE WORTH: | |||
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= €20 (Highly confident) | = €10 (CONFIDENT) | = €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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