Napoli host Villarreal in the second leg of their Europa League tie on Thursday knowing that they need to secure a win to qualify for the Last 16.
After Juventus ended their eight game winning run, the Partenopei have now not tasted victory in three games in all competitions, including the first leg of this tie, which they lost 1-0.
Denis Suarez’ late winner during that initial meeting means that Maurizio Sarri’s side will need to win by two clear goals if they wish to progress to a stage they have reached for the last three seasons.
This will be the sixth meeting between the two sides, all within the last five years. Both have two wins to their name to date.
Villarreal enter the game on a phenomenal run of form, Sunday’s draw with Atletico Madrid was their 12th game unbeaten, of which they have won eight. In spite of that positive sequence, the omens favour Napoli, who will be looking to ensure that they remain unbeaten at home against Spanish opposition.
The visitors, meanwhile, have yet to win a game in Italy having lost five of their previous encounters on the peninsula including a 2-0 defeat in their previous trip to the Stadio San Paolo. A repeat of that result in this, their 100th Europa League match, would see Napoli through.
Without Jonathan Dos Santos and Samu Castillejo for the game, Villarreal midfielder Tomas Pina may benefit from their absence. Adrian Lopez began the first leg on the bench, but will be in contention for a starting position this time around.
Meanwhile, Sarri will be able to call on a fully fit squad for the clash. As his side could only draw 1-1 with Milan on Monday evening, he was unable to relieve the workload on prolific striker Gonzalo Higuain. The Argentine hotshot has 26 goals in all competitions this season, but has failed to find the net for three consecutive games – his longest barren spell of the campaign to date.
Pepe Reina, who has split goal-keeping duties with Rafael this season in the Europa League, sits ninth on the all time European appearance list with 146; should he feature in the Thursday night clash he would need another three to draw level in eighth with former Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher.
Form Guide
Napoli (W-W-L-L-D) Villarreal (W-D-W-W-D)
Expected Starting XIs
Napoli: Reina; Hysaj, Chiriches, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Lopez, Allan, Mertens; Callejon, Hamsik, Higuain.
Villarreal: Areola; Gaspar, Musacchio, Ruiz, Costa; Rukavina, Soriano, Trigueros, Suarez; Soldado, Baptistao.
