The Napoli vs Arsenal Champions League match will take place this Wednesday, December 11, 2013 (11:45 AM Pacific) at the San Paolo stadium. Arsenal tops this group with a three point margin above Borussia Dortmund and Napoli, so they need only draw for the first place. Napoli has to win this game by at least three goals to qualify for the knockout round, considering Borussia Dortmund should have an easy task beating pointless Olympique Marseille.
Arsenal is going to Naples after a draw at their Emirates stadium against Everton in the Premier League, which interrupted their four-win streak. Despite that, Arsenal is in a solid form, they will play this game pressure-free, since a draw, or even a loss by two goals’ difference would secure them a spot for knockout rounds.
On the other hand, Napoli is under great pressure, they must win this game by three goals’ difference or more to secure their qualification from this group. Of course, that will be a very difficult task, because Arsenal is a team which has very dangerous counter attacks, and it is hard to imagine that the Italians can save their net in this game. Additionally, Napoli’s game doesn’t look so good at the moment. They won only one of their last five games, and their last win on home ground was against Olympique in Champions League, over a month ago.
Arsenal will be deprived of the help of Bacary Sagna and Mathieu Flamini, who recently picked up injuries. Long term injured players in Arsenal squad are Chamberlain, Podolski, Diaby and Sanogo, and they won’t be featuring in this match either.
Napoli has got problems with absentees as well, they will be without help of Zuniga and Mesto. Medical staff worked hard with Marek Hamsik to make him available for this fixture, but the latest reports aren’t that optimistic, and it is expected that he won’t play in this game.
Napoli vs Arsenal Prediction
Napoli must launch into attack mode starting from the first minute of the game, and Arsenal can dwell in their own half field and wait for a chance to bring out their signature counter attack. Napoli conceded a goal in every one of their last eight matches, so it would be a surprise if they kept a clean-sheet against Arsenal. If Arsenal scores, that would mean “game over” for them. Considering all those facts, prediction is that the most likely outcome of the match is a 1-3 win for Arsenal.
Napoli vs Arsenal Television
The match will be televised on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes this Wednesday, December 11, 2013 at 11:45 AM Pacific.
Napoli 2-0 Arsenal Highlights & Live Commentary
Match highlights will be available soon after the end of the match. Click here to view live commentary for the Napoli vs Arsenal match.
