Champions League: Liverpool Need Recovery…and Revenge

Liverpool vs Napoli

Liverpool entertain Napoli in their last group stage match in the 2022/23 Champions League and, on paper, it is a meeting with little pressure on either side. 

Both teams have qualified from Group A; Napoli with five wins from five and Liverpool with four wins and one loss, and they leave Ajax and Rangers in the far distance. So what’s at stake when Liverpool vs Napoli plays out in front of a packed Anfield crowd on Tuesday? 

Well, Gli Azzurri humiliated Liverpool in the return match, the opening tie of the group stage, with a 4-1 hammering at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. So revenge is a dish the Anfield faithful would like to taste. But a more serious matter for Jurgen Klopp is the worrying lack of momentum in his side’s Premier League challenge as their latest defeat, a 2-1 loss at home to Leeds, left Liverpool languishing in ninth place and a whopping 13 points behind leaders Manchester City.

The gap to the top may get even bigger if, as expected, Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest on Sunday. The fact that Liverpool’s loss to strugglers Leeds came on the back of a defeat to rock bottom Forest is a big worry on Merseyside and Klopp needs a quick recovery from his beleaguered stars.

Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli, in stark contrast, are flying high as Serie A league leaders and have a 100 per cent record in the Champions League; they are unbeaten in both competitions and will be very keen to maintain their own impressive momentum.   

Talking Points

Liverpool need a reset, not a revolution 

The Reds lost 2-1 to Leeds at Anfield in 2001 but nobody outside Leeds expected them to lose to the Whites again. But, on Saturday lightning stuck twice as Crysencio Summerville scored an 89the minute winner after Mo Salah had cancelled out Rodrygo’s early opener. It was the Reds’ fourth league defeat of the campaign and another frustrating one, as Liverpool dominated possession and the shot count, with ten on target as Leeds keeper Illan Meslier put in a man-of-the-match performance.

A title-challenging team doesn’t suddenly become bang average overnight and, while the loss of Sadio Mane to FC Bayern has had an impact, with players such as Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and the fit-again Andrew Robertson in the side, Klopp has leaders on the pitch who can lead a recovery.         

The Champions League 2022 odds reckon the hosts should beat the red-hot Italians and six-goal Salah  is a contender for the Golden Boot. It is surely a matter of time until the Reds start to click; and the fans on the Kop would dearly love their team to make a statement at Anfield on Tuesday.  

Osimhen is back and firing for Napoli

Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli have been simply sensational this season, in Italy and in Europe, and a 4-0 win over Sassuolo cemented their place at the top of Serie A, with a six-point gap before the Sunday games. Ten wins and two draws is a fantastic return for a team which began the season wondering how they would cope without the departed talisman Lorenzo Insigne and with star striker Victor Osimhen trying to shake of an injury his year.

Spalletti has put together a confident, well organised and dangerous side in the post-Insigne era and they were at their brilliant best when they swept Sassuolo aside on Saturday, and it was Osimhen who wrote the headlines with a brilliantly taken hat-trick. But this is a team with multiple threats. Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone have provided plenty of Champions League 2022 highlights with four goals each while midfield general Piotr Zielinski has three goals and Andre Frank Anguissa has weighed in with three assists.

But the clash to watch out for is Van Dijk vs Osimhen. 

History

The head-to-head Liverpool vs Napoli results see the Azzurri with their noses in front with four victories to Liverpool’s three, and there have been two draws between the two sides.

Of course, the Azzurri whacked Liverpool 4-1 in September as Zielinski scored twice after Osimhen had hit the post, and Anguissa and Simeone both piled on the agony for the Reds while Luis Diaz scored a consolation. 

In terms of recent form; Napoli are unbeaten in 27 games and have won the last 13 but Liverpool’s eight-match unbeaten run at Anfield came crashing down against Leeds. 

Betting Tip

Liverpool are the clear favourites to win this last game of the group at SBOTOP odds of 1.64 while Napoli are out at 4.55 and the draw is 3.88.

With a huge match away to Spurs next weekend Liverpool may have one eye on the future and Napoli too have a big game away to Atalanta. So, while the Liverpool fans will desperate for some revenge I suspect this game will go with form.

 

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