Champions League: Critical Match for Napoli to Stay in the Hunt

Napoli vs Chelsea

Time is running out for Napoli to secure their tickets to the next round of this season’s Champions League. Due to their poor Champions League 2026 results, with two wins, two draws, and three losses in their first seven games, Antonio Conte’s side is 25th in the table with only eight points, level with 22nd-seeded PSV, 23rd-seeded Athletic Bilbao, 24th-seeded Olympiacos, and 26th-seeded Copenhagen.

The Partenopei are fresh from a 1-1 draw against Copenhagen and a 3-0 loss against Juventus in Serie A yesterday, so they’ll be searching for home comfort when they host Chelsea at the Diego Maradona Stadium on Wednesday evening.

This is also a must-win for Chelsea to maintain their hold of a Top 8 berth. As of this writing, the Blues are eighth in the standings with 13 points, and Liam Rosenior’s squad is on a three-game winning streak across all competitions.

 

Talking Points

Injuries continue to haunt Napoli

Napoli have not quite been able to replicate their Serie A-winning form this campaign, as they just dropped to fourth in the Italian top-flight, following a convincing defeat by Juventus last time out. Their European form hasn’t been much better, which includes chastening defeats against Manchester City, Benfica, and PSV, but they could rescue their chances with a victory against Chelsea.

Antonio Conte is dealing with a massive headache on the injury front. Besides Billy Gilmour, Frank Anguissa, Kevin De Bruyne, Amir Rrahmani, Matteo Politano, and David Neres, the Partenopei also lost Vanja Milinkovic-Savic to a thigh injury recently, so Alex Meret will likely play his first Champions League match since March 2024. Also absent is winter signing Giovane because the former Hellas Verona man is not yet officially eligible to play for the team on Wednesday. Romelu Lukaku is questionable to play.

This means that the Partenopei will rely heavily on the production of Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund. McTominay has scored four of Napoli’s seven Champions League goals this season, with Hojlund netting two. There will likely be more opportunities for Stanislav Lobotka, Antonio Vergara, and Miguel Gutierrez to shine. Meanwhile, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Juan Jesus, and Alessandro Buongiorno will make up for their back three.

 

Palmer questionable to play for Chelsea

Chelsea fans have been cautiously optimistic ahead of this Wednesday, as Liam Rosenior has won four of his first five games at the helm. The Blues played their best football yet on Sunday, when they cruised past a disjointed 10-man Crystal Palace squad at Selhurst Park.

Estevao, Joao Pedro, and Enzo Fernandez were on the scoresheet for the Blues. Adam Wharton received his marching orders in the second half, while Chris Richards scored a late consolation goal for the Eagles. 

Cole Palmer was supposed to play against Crystal Palace after missing the Pafos game. However, Rosenior held Palmer out, as the 23-year-old talisman was not yet 100-per cent fit. According to Rosenior, Palmer could be back in action on Wednesday.

 

History

Wednesday marks only the third ever meeting between Napoli and Chelsea. The only previous competitive encounters between these two European heavyweights were the 2011-12 Champions League Round of 16, where the Blues secured a 5-4 aggregate triumph to progress to the next round (and eventually winning it all).

Napoli won 3-1 in the first leg at Stadio San Paolo, as Ezequiel Lavezzi’s brace and Edinson Cavani’s goal nullified Juan Mata’s opening goal, leaving Chelsea with a huge mountain to climb. However, with Andre Villas-Boas fired shortly after, the Blues won the return leg at Stamford Bridge under interim manager Roberto Di Matteo.

After Gokhan Inler momentarily put the Partenopei back in control, Didier Drogba, John Terry, and Frank Lampard sent the match to extra time before Branislav Ivanovic completed the comeback in the 105th minute.

 

Betting Tip

The Champions League 2026 odds predict an all-out battle between Napoli and Chelsea at the Diego Maradona Stadium on Wednesday night. Because they’re in better recent form, Chelsea have the slight advantage at 2.28, whereas Napoli are at 2.87, and a draw is at 3.18 in the 1X2 market.

While choosing the winner of this contest is a tough call, we’re sure there will be enough goals but not too many. Besides our recommended bet, SBOTOP punters may also consider adding Over 2.25 at 1.62, Over 2.50 at 1.80, and Over 2.75 at 2.07 to the parlay to maximize your earnings. Furthermore, a Correct Score of 4-1 in favour of the Blues – the result of their last European meeting – seems like a long shot of a staggering 90.00 your bet.

   

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