Napoli face Chelsea at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday evening, aiming to salvage their UEFA Champions League campaign.
The Serie A defending champions were held to a 1-1 draw by FC Copenhagen on matchday seven, dropping outside the play-off spots.
Chelsea dug deep to beat Pafos 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, climbing to eighth in the standings — the last automatic qualification spot for the knockout stages.
Match preview
Napoli have endured a poor UCL campaign, collecting just eight points from seven games, and are on the brink of elimination.
The Parthenopeans also lost 3-0 to Juventus in the league on Sunday, and are now nine points behind leaders Inter Milan.
However, they could still salvage their season, starting with a victory over the Blues, which could secure their berth in the play-offs, depending on results elsewhere.
Chelsea will be aiming for a victory to avoid the rigours of play-offs, compounding the woes of former manager Antonio Conte.
Liam Rosenior’s side secured a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday, but had to ride their luck in the fixture.
Chelsea lost 3-1 on their last visit to Napoli en route to their 2012 Champions League triumph. They will be hoping to avoid a repeat to book their spot in the knockout stages.
Team news
Napoli will miss the services of goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and David Neres, who join Kevin De Bruyne, Billy Gilmour, and Frank Anguissa on the treatment table.
Chelsea will be without long-term absentee Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, Dario Essugo, and Romeo Lavia. Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen and forward Cole Palmer are doubtful.
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Aaron Anselmino, who was recalled from his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund, is ineligible to feature.
Predicted line-ups
Napoli (3-4-2-1: Alex Meret, Juan Jesus, Alessandro Buongiorno, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Spinazzola, Scott McTominay, Stanislav Lobotka, Miguel Gutierrez, Eljif Elmas, Antonio Vergara, Rasmus Hojlund.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Robert Sanchez, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Pedro Neto, Liam Delap.
Prediction
We fancy Chelsea to win 2-1.
Stats from uefa.com & whoscored.com