It might look like an easy draw on paper, but the Spanish giants Real Madrir are faced with a difficult challenge in the UEFA Champions League knockouts against high-flying Serie A side Napoli.

Road to Glory

Real Madrid’s season is going quite well despite the Copa del Rey disappointment. Los Blancos are sitting in top of the standings in La Liga with a one-point lead in front of Barcelona, but with two games in hand. The current domestic situation gives Zinedine Zidane’s men a chance to fully focus on their European exploits and an opportunity to improve the impression that was left in the group stage of the competition, which Real Madrid finished in second place. Los Blancos head into their Napoli challenge with a renewed sense of optimism as Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last four matches, ever since Copa del Rey exit to Celta. The forthcoming game comes as an important moment for Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos who is coming from a huge milestone of 500 matches for Real. Winning the next one would thus be a perfect way to open a new chapter in his glorious career with Los Blancos.

Gareth Bale remains on the sidelines despite returning to training this week. Marcelo and Dani Carvajal are both ruled out of the match as well.

High-flying Napoli

It’s been a while since we saw Napoli flying this high in Europe and the fans are hoping the current crop of players will go on to become the bigger success than the team lead by Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi. Maurizio Sarri is doing a wonderful job with his team this season as the Partenopei are thriving at all fronts. Having finished the group stages of the competition top of the crop, Napoli are given a tough challenge but a welcome one as the temperamental southerners never backed down from a fight. Gonzalo Higuain’s departure to Juventus seems to have had an utterly positive effect on the players who are enjoying well-distributed roles in the team. Jose Callejon, Marek Hamsik, Lorenzo Insigne and Belgium in-form star Dries Mertens are enjoying a rich vein of form and are relishing the prospect of matching their skills against one of the biggest sides in the world. Lack of experience could prove to be their biggest problem in the Champions League this season, but have no doubts that we will be seeing more of Napoli in the forthcoming seasons.

Elseid Hysaj and Jose Callejon were sidelined through domestic suspension, but will return to action against Real Madrid. Defender Lorenzo Tonelli is the only player in the treatment room.

Verdict

Real Madrid will be smart enough not to underestimate the Serie A side and we do expect Zinedine Zidane to field his strongest team in order to dispatch the Partenopei and gain a strong footing ahead of the return leg.

Top pick: Home win   1.6 (6/10) @Betfair

Alternative pick 1: Real Madrid/Real Madrid   2.45 (29/20) @Coral

Atlernative pick 2: Cristiano Ronaldo to score anytime   1.62 (8/13) @WilliamHill