Napoli vs Chelsea – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

The Blues have won three straight matches. Antonio Conte’s side have just one win in their last six matches in all competitions. Both sides need a win from this match as the Blues chase a top-eight finish and Napoli aim to reach the playoff round.

Napoli Form

The Partenopei have won just once in the last six matches. They’ve also only lost once in ten fixtures. A 2-0 win at Lazio made it three straight victories. Three draws followed as their title defence faltered. They drew 2-2 at home to Verona and at 2-2 away at Inter Milan.

A damaging 0-0 home draw followed at home to Parma despite a 16-4 shot count. A 1-0 home win over Sassuolo saw them allow 21 shots. Napoli could only draw 1-1 at ten-man FC Copenhagen in the Champions League before a poor loss on Sunday. A 3-0 defeat at Juventus saw Conte’s side fall nine points off the log leaders.

Napoli Team News

Winger David Neres and goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic are sidelined with injuries. Romelu Lukaku has returned from injury but he will play a few minutes at most.

Billy Gilmour and Kevin De Bruyne are absent in the engine room. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa is nearing a return from a muscle injury, as is defender Amir Rrahmani.

Napoli Motivation

Napoli need a win here. They also need a response to Sunday’s poor defeat.

Antonio Conte will play quite a pragmatic game. His side doesn’t create many chances and will look to protect any lead with a defensive setup.

Chelsea Form

Chelsea have won their last three matches, with two of those in the Premier League. Before that, they were on a five-match winless streak in the league. A poor 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa was followed by a 2-2 at Bournemouth as coach Enzo Maresca was sacked. A late goal rescued a 1-1 draw at Man City after that.

Under new coach Liam Rosenior, they beat Charlton 5-1 in the FA Cup but lost 3-2 at home to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. Three wins have followed, starting with a 2-0 home win over Brentford before a 1-0 victory at home to Pafos in the Champions League. On Sunday, Chelsea won 3-1 at Crystal Palace.

Chelsea Team News

Coach Liam Rosenior remains without centre backs Levi Colwill and Tosin Adarabioyo. Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia will play no part in midfield but Cole Palmer could be back.

Estevao Willian will hope to keep his place down the right flank. Wesley Fofana is pushing for a recall in defence whilst Reece James could move into a midfield role.

Chelsea Motivation

Chelsea need a win to try to finish in the top eight and avoid a playoff round. A draw would not be enough from this match.

Rosenior’s side will try to keep the ball in Naples but quite a pragmatic approach may be needed. Chelsea have been bringing on extra defenders to protect leads in recent weeks.

Key Stats

• Napoli have won just 1 of their last 6 matches (4 draws, 1 loss).
• Napoli’s last 5 Champions League matches have seen just 1 win.
• Chelsea have won 4 of their last 5 matches (2 clean sheets).
• Chelsea’s Estevao has scored 3 goals in his last 3 UCL starts

Verdict

Napoli are struggling of late. Chelsea should nick a draw or a win in Italy. Estevao is the one to watch here.

Best Bet: Chelsea win at 2.20

Value Bet: Chelsea win/draw double chance + Under 3.5 goals at 1.95

Goalscorer Tip: Estevao to score anytime at 5.00