Napoli vs Swansea preview

February 26, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Napoli vs SwanseaNapoli are in a good position to qualify for the next stage after the goalless draw at Liberty Stadium, but the Azzurri definitely need to show some improvement if they are to avoid any surprises.

The Swans largely impressed in the first leg, but having failed to turn their dominance into goals, Gary Monk’s charges face an uphill task at Stadio San Paolo.

This season hasn’t exactly gone according to plan for Napoli in spite of the heavy summer recruitment and strong start to the campaign.

It appears that busy schedule has taken its toll on the squad even if the Azzurri do seem to have decent strength in depth.

And even with Rafael Benitez fielding a strong side against Swansea, Napoli were completely outclassed by their less illustrious opponents and were pretty fortunate to come away with a draw.

The team have since suffered another slip-up as they failed to beat Genoa at home in Serie A, meaning this is a must-win game for the Italian giants.

Napoli have been made 1.50 (1/2) favourites to win the return leg, with top scorer Gonzalo Higuain priced at 2.20 (6/5) to score anytime.

Second choice keeper Rafael has been ruled out for the season, whilst Giandomenico Mesto and Camilo Zuniga remain sidelined. Jorginho is ineligible.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Reina – Reveillere, Albiol, Henrique, Ghoulam – Inler, Dzemaili – Mertens, Hamsik, Insigne – Higuain.

Swansea fans have quickly forgotten all about Michael Laudrup following an impressive start former captain Gary Monk has made to his coaching career.

The Swans not only impressed in the Premier League, where they hammered South Wales rivals Cardiff, shared spoils with Stoke and almost snatched a point from Anfield, but also managed to outplay one of Italy’s top sides in Europa League.

The end product was missing against Napoli as Swansea had created quite a few chances to score, but the three goals scored at Anfield can certainly give them reason for optimism ahead of the trip to Naples.

Gary Monk’s side ended up losing 4-3 to Liverpool, but they can definitely take heart from what was another very good display.

There are no doubts Swansea face a difficult task against very motivated Napoli, but you should know they are 3.20 (11/5) to qualify for the next stage.

Star forward Michu is closing in on his return, but he is unlikely to be risked, whereas Ben Davies should return from a calf problem.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Vorm – Rangel, Chico, Williams, Davies – de Guzman, Canas – Dyer, Shelvey, Hernandez – Bony.

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