Chelsea are under increasing pressure to win away from home in any match and take the pressure off of their manager.
Napoli will go into this game full of confidence as they played very well to qualify out of a very strong group during the first stage of the competition. The Italian team showed against Manchester City that they have some very good players who can be difficult, almost impossible, to beat when they are used in the right sort of system. The bookies have Napoli down as the favourites at a best price of 7/5 with Paddy Power.
Chelsea need to make sure they take the game to the second leg with the match still in the balance. If they are beaten heavily then Napoli will shut up shop for the second game and park the coach in front of the goal. Chelsea have some experienced players when it comes to nights like this in European football. Chelsea are quite a bit longer than their opponents in the betting stakes at 12/5 with 188bet.
Napoli can play very expansively at times and they will try to do this as they seek a couple of quick early goals. They are great when they get the ball out to the wings and then get in behind the defence. Napoli will keep the early pressure on Chelsea throughout the first half and this could allow them to brand their dominance for the entire match. Napoli to win 2-0 looks good at 10s in a couple of places.
Chelsea need to rely on good counter attacking play if they want to keep this tie alive and possibly take something back to West London with them. They will be looking to break quickly which means getting the ball to their key players in the middle of the pitch. They should be carrying some extra height in their attack which could prove useful. Chelsea to steal a 1-0 is 8s with Stan James.
Edinson Cavani is the favourite to score the first goal of the game for the home team. He played very well against Manchester City to score a superb goal and highlight just how much of an underrated player he is. Cavani is 11/2 across the betting market but always gets into the right positions to poach a goal whenever Napoli get the ball and break quickly down the field.
Didier Drogba will return to the Chelsea attack and they have missed him badly as Fernando Torres continues to struggle in the blue of the club. Drogba has been away on international duty and is in very good form. He has said that he wants to help Chelsea win a Champions League title more than anything else. Drogba is 7s in a couple of places on the market. He will add height and strength to the Chelsea attack which are two basic components which have been missing since he left in early January.
As you can see the online bookies are competing very hard with each other to offer the best odds for customers. With this is mind it could well be worth looking to sign up to a new bookmaker to get better odds and also get one of their welcome free bets. Most offer new customers bookmakers free bets as a sign up bonus ranging from £10 to £200 so have a look at out free bet guide and see which free betting offer is right for you.
It will be a difficult task for Chelsea to win the match. Napoli is in great form. Napoli won their last two matches quite convincingly against Manchester City and Villarreal respectively. In the Italian Serie A they are unbeaten in the last 4 matches that include two back to back victories in the last two matches. Whereas, Torres cannot find the back of the net, Edinson Cavani of Napoli is in the form of his life with 15 goals scored already in this season. Chelsea, it seems, have forgotten how to win right now. So, they are in real danger of elimination from the UEFA Champions League.