Napoli vs Benfica
UEFA Champions League – Group B
Date: Wednesday, 28th September, 2016
Kick-off: 19:45 UK.
Venue: Stadio San Paolo, Naples.
Both of these sides have started the new season in fine form and I think that will make for a very intriguing encounter in the Champions League this week. Napoli will head in as the favourites thanks to their home advantage, as well as a victory in their opening group game away at Dynamo Kiev. Benfica could only manage a draw at home to Turkish champions Besiktas and that might explain why the odds aren’t as close as I thought they would be. SkyBet are offering just 8/13 on a home win, 3/1 for the draw and 17/4 on the Portuguese visitors taking all three points. Benfica always seem to perform well in Europe and that is why I’m a little surprised at their odds for a win. While I accept Napoli are the favourites, I also don’t think Benfica can be written off so easily. We should be in for a really good game as two high quality sides that like to play attractive football go head to head.
HEAD TO HEAD
The lone meeting between these two sides came during the e 2008/09 edition of UEFA Cup first round. Napoli earned a 3-2 thrilling win in the first leg at their home group. But Benfica came back strong with two second half strikes eventually overturning the deficit with a 2-0 win.
Napoli’s overall record against Portuguese clubs is 4 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses from 10 matches. And they are unbeaten at home with 3 wins and 2 draws from 5 matches.
While Benfica have met Italian oppositions on 29 occasions and lost in 15. Their record in Italy is 3 wins, 1 draw and 9 losses from 13 visits.
Napoli vs Benfica: Prediction
Both teams are very close in form analysis after 8 competitive matches into the season. They have won 6 matches and 2 draws which makes it extremely difficult to separate them on paper.
But Benfica are struggling with injuries with at least 6 of their first team players expected to miss the trip to Naples. While Napoli have an almost full strength squad at their disposal. The Portuguese side also have a poor record in Italy which indicates that the home side are more likely to edge a win here. Also Napoli have a dominant record at home in recent months, with their last defeat coming against Inter Milan in a cup match on January 2016.
As a result of the above analysis, Napoli could be backed with confidence to get a win here. We could also see them score at least twice here as they are averaging 3.5 goal per game in their last 12 matches at Stadio San Paolo.
Napoli vs Benfica: Bet Tips
Napoli to win at 1.65 (13/20).
Napoli to Score over 1.5 goals at 1.61 (8/13).
