Chelsea will play Italian outfit, Napoli, on February 21, in what could prove to be one of the more exciting matches of the Champions League, so far. The fixture will take place six days after the only other English team remaining in the competition, Arsenal, play AC Milan at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro).
Described by the Guardian as a “nightmare draw” for the Blues, the clash has proven difficult to call for the bookmakers, with many high street branches placing identical odds (13/2) on three separate results: a goalless draw, and a 1-0 victory for either Chelsea or Napoli. A result tied at one-all is listed at 5/1 in the online European football odds.
Napoli could come across as slight favourites, given that they fought their way through a group consisting of Bayern Munich, Manchester City, and Villarreal without picking up a single negative result. Chelsea, who topped their group with three wins, faced the arguably weaker line-up of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Valencia, and KRC Genk.
However, Chelsea are the more aggressive of the two sides, scoring 13 goals to Napoli’s 10, and having 53 attempts on target, compared to the Azzurri’s rather meagre-looking 18. Napoli only trump Chelsea on playing a far ‘dirtier’ game; a third more fouls than the Blues, five more bookings, and the only red card collected by the pair.
The Blues’ secretary, David Barnard, recognises the threat posed by Napoli: “It will be difficult, having seen Napoli when they were in the same group as Manchester City”, Barnard said, in the wake of the Champions League draw, in December. “City are no longer with us [in Europe] which reflects the quality of Napoli.”
Aurelio De Laurentiis, Napoli’s president, recently said that he was looking forward to a “very exciting” game at Stamford Bridge, in just under a month’s time.
gfreeman
Want to showcase your product to our audience? Then check our advertising options.
If you liked this post the why not Sign up for our FREE SUBSCRIPTION and never miss a single post
