Massimiliano Allegri takes Napoli to Porto on Wednesday night, and both clubs badly need a result. Porto are still without a point in the Champions League. Napoli have three, and their season at home has gone wrong.
The game at the Estádio do Dragão kicks off at 21:00 CET.
Perfect in Portugal, pointless in Europe
Francesco Farioli’s Porto have two very different seasons going on. In the Portuguese league they have won all ten of their games and sit top of the table. That run includes a 3-1 win over Benfica, and on Saturday they beat Estoril 4-0.
Europe has been another story. Porto lost 2-0 at home to Manchester City on the first night, went down 3-2 at Real Betis and then lost 1-0 at home to PSV Eindhoven. They have scored two goals and let in six, and they conceded the first goal in all three games.
A hard autumn for Napoli
Allegri’s side lost their first two league phase games, 1-0 at home to Arsenal and 3-1 at Villarreal. They then beat Bodø/Glimt 4-3 in Naples for their only win so far.
Their away form is a big worry. Napoli have not won any of their last seven Champions League away games, and they have lost six of them.
Things are not much better in Serie A. Napoli lost 2-0 at Juventus on Sunday and are eighth, 14 points behind leaders Lazio. There is a lot of pressure on Allegri, who has to turn the season around quickly.
A long injury list
Allegri has many players missing. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Mathias Olivera, Stanislav Lobotka, David Neres, Leonardo Spinazzola, Benoit Badiashile and Alisson Santos are all out.
Kevin De Bruyne is a doubt with an ankle problem, and Rasmus Højlund has been ill. If De Bruyne plays, it will be his 86th Champions League game. That would take him past Axel Witsel into second place among Belgian players in the competition. Only Thibaut Courtois has played more.
The two clubs know each other. Napoli knocked Porto out of the UEFA Cup in 1974/75, and Porto won their Europa League tie 3-2 on aggregate in 2013/14.
Our take
For Porto, this is close to a must-win game. Another defeat would leave them with no points from four games.
Napoli are in a weak moment, and the injuries make it harder. But they still have players who can decide a game like this, and De Bruyne is one of them if he is fit.
Who do you think wins at the Dragão? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Massimiliano Allegri by Quirinale (Attribution) and by goatling (CC BY-SA 2.0); Estádio do Dragão by Ivan Stesso (CC BY-SA 4.0); Stadio Maradona by Calciopedia (CC0).
