Dnipro vs Napoli preview

May 13, 2015
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Dnipro vs NapoliDespite being pretty fortunate to earn a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Dnipro are in a good position to qualify for their first ever Europa League final.

However, Napoli will be looking to build on the promising performance from the first leg and make things right in Dnipropetrovsk.

Dnipro have been on a major uptrend over the last few years, slowing establishing themselves as the best of the rest (minus Dynamo and Shakhtar) in Ukrainian elite division, while also enjoying some European success.

The Ukrainians missed the opportunity to make it to the Champions League group stages, but that soon proved to be a blessing in disguise.

Dnipro instead continued their European campaign in Europa League and they did brilliantly to reach the semi-finals for the first time in history.

Even if they were completely outclassed by Napoli in the first leg, Myron Markevych’s men will be delighted with a 1-1 draw, which sees them priced at 2.62 (13/8) to qualify for the final.

The boss took a gamble with his squad selection for weekend’s match against Zorya as the second-string side suffered a 2-0 defeat, slipping from Champions League positions, but at least he will have all key men rested for the visit of Napoli.

However, Evgeniy Shakhov remains an injury doubt, whilst Ondrej Mazuch, Sergey Kravchenko and Roman Zozulya are definitely out.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Boyko – Fedetskiy, Douglas, Cheberyachko, Leo Matos – Kankava, Fedorchuk – Luchkevych, Rotan, Konoplyanka – Kalinic.

Napoli’s season have been going from bad to worse for quite a while and Europa League title is the only way to save the current campaign.

The Azzurri missed a brilliant chance to revive their top 3 bid in Italian Serie A as they could only muster a 2-2 draw with already relegated Parma, and some of the players even had the nerve to blame I Ducali for fighting fairly to avoid defeat.

This is enough to suggest that the expensively assembled squad is under intense pressure having failed to meet pre-season targets, and they clearly face a difficult match in Ukraine.

Napoli did create a host of good opportunities to score in the first leg, but they failed to hold on to the lead, and are now 2.00 (1/1) to win the second leg.

Rafa Benitez is set to recall the likes of Jose Callejon, Gonzalo Higuain, David Lopez, Lorenzo Insigne and Christian Maggio after they were rested at the weekend.

However, Michu and Camilo Zuniga are out injured and Jonathan De Guzman is unlikely to recover in time for the trip to Ukraine.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Andujar – Maggio, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam – Lopez, Jorginho – Callejon, Hamsik, Insigne – Higuain.

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