Napoli and Villarreal will face off in the second leg of the Round of 32 Europa League matchup on Thursday night at the Stadio San Paolo where Napoli will have to put on a strong performance to complete a comeback and move on in the competition after Villarreal won in the first leg.
The first leg ended in a 1-0 final score after Denis Suarez scored a stunning free kick in the 82nd minute to seal the advantage for Villarreal at home. The Spanish side did an incredible job at interrupting Napoli’s offense and not allowing them to create any solid rhythm. Even when Napoli were attacking, Villarreal were able to use their toughness to cause bad passes and the defense did a great job at clearing any danger presented by the Italian side. The club knows that they will face adversity on Thursday on hostile soil when they travel to Stadio San Paolo. A 1-0 aggregate lead is great, but they know it is far from over. They will look to somehow get an away goal and make it even more difficult for Napoli to comeback and advance.
The Partenopei have finally hit a rough patch after having an incredible stretch in the season. The azzurri are winless in their past three matches losing two of them, one being to Villarreal, and the most recent result being a draw against Milan on Monday night. The draw caused Napoli to remain in second place and fail to regain first place from Juventus. Even though Napoli has hit this drought, they can still take positives from the matches. The team has been able to hold more possession than their opponents and still look very dangerous on the offensive end. Gonzalo Higuain is in a little funk of his own and will try to get on the scoresheet. One goal can get the goals rolling again. Through it all, Napoli coach, Maurizio Sarri, has remained calm ahead of the clash Thursday night and assured his side that they can meet this challenge.
Napoli will have to come back from a 1-0 deficit and look to defend against the away goal that Villarreal will look to score. The Partenopei are on their home turf, which will certainly boost their confidence in the match. The fans have not stopped their strong support for their home team and hope to see their club moving on into the next round of the Europa League competition.
Napoli’s Recent Form in Serie A: DLWWW
Villarreal’s Recent Form in La Liga: DWDWD
Head to Head: Villarreal defeated Napoli at home last 1-0 to take the aggregate lead after previously losing both matches against Napoli in the Champions League in 2011 when the two clubs were in the same group.
Napoli: Formation – 4-3-3
Injured: Alberto Grassi
Callups: Reina, Gabriel, Rafael, Maggio, Hysaj, Strinic, Ghoulam, Albiol, Koulibaly, Chiriches, Valdifiori, Allan, David Lopez, Hamsik, El Kaddouri, Callejon, Insigne, Mertens, Gabbiadini, Higuain
NAPOLI’S Probable Starting XI: (4-3-3) Reina; Maggio, Albiol, Chiriches, Strinic; Allan, Lopez, Valdifiori; Callejon, Higuain, Mertens
Villarreal: Formation – 4-4-2
Injured: Samu Garcia, Jonathan Dos Santos
Callups: Areola, Barbosa, Asenjo, Rukavina, Mario Gaspar, Jaume Costa, Victor Ruiz, Bonera, Musacchio, Eric Bailly, Pina, Bruno, Trigueros, Denis Suarez, Castillejo, Soldado, Bakambu, Leo Baptistao, Adrian Lopez
VILLARREAL’S Probable Starting XI: (4-4-2) Areola; Mario Gaspar, Musacchio, Ruiz, Costa; Castillejo, Trigueros, Bruno Soriano, Suarez; Soldado, Baptistao
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