Napoli travels to Spain to play Real Madrid in the 1st leg of the Champions League knockout stages. This is the first time these two sides will play each other. As reigning champions, Real Madrid have won the trophy in two of the last three seasons. They also hold the record for being the only team to qualify for the knockout stages for 20 seasons in a row. Since 2011, Real Madrid has never failed to score in any Champions League game at Santiago Bernabeu.
With 2 games in hand and one point clear of Barcelona, Real Madrid currently sits in 1st place in La Liga and are coping well with the pressure from a resurgent Barcelona. Without the services of star players Gareth Bale (injured) and Toni Kross (suspended), Zinedine Zidane hasn’t had the luxury of resting some of his key players ahead of this important clash with Napoli. However, the atmosphere in the squad is largely positive with Ronaldo and company having a great start to the year and generally performing well all season. Los Blancos are favourites to win this tie, and they are undefeated in their last 11 home matches in this competition.
After a relatively easy group stage, Napoli have to show what they are capable of and try to gain at least a draw from this away leg in Madrid. It’s crucial for them to try and find the back of the net as every goal scored away represents big value for the second leg. In Italy’s Serie A, they currently sit 3rd in the standings and after a 2-0 home win against Genoa, they extended their unbeaten run to 18 games in all competitions. They are only two points behind Roma, and if they continue their good form they might secure 2nd position behind Juventus at the end of the season. Napoli have the best attack in the Serie A, with 57 goals scored in 24 matches. With history and statistics not on their side, the bookmakers have priced Napoli at huge odds to win this away leg at 6.5 with green listed bookmakers. Their players have declared that they will approach this encounter full of confidence, however, and they are hoping for a positive result.
The key to this match is how Napoli will cope with the pressure of playing at the Bernabeu and of course with Real Madrid’s attacking style of football. If Los Blancos don’t score in the first twenty minutes of the game, Napoli will have a big opportunity to gain something out of this fixture. We are expecting a thrilling game with goals from both sides.
Best picks for this match:
Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals in the game at 1.9 with Betfair.
Over 1.5 goals scored in the 1st half at 2.25 with William Hill.
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