The opening leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 between Napoli and Eintracht Frankfurt will take place at the Deutsche Bank Park on Tuesday night.
Team Form
Eintracht Frankfurt
Frankfurt, the current Europa League champions, is undoubtedly on the rise. They will now play in the Champions League knockout rounds as the 11th different German team, which is the most of any country.
Die Adler advanced to the knockout rounds by winning their final two games in the group stage, 2-1, over both Marseille and Sporting.
With French World Cup star Randal Kolo Muani scoring seven goals in their previous six games, including the second in a 2-0 win over Werder Bremen on Saturday night, Frankfurt has also emerged in the Bundesliga. An outstanding recent run has moved them into the top six.
The club will play in its first knockout match in Europe’s premier competition in several generations of about after 63 years.
Eintracht Frankfurt UCL Form: W D L W W
Eintracht Frankfurt Form (All Competition): D W W L W
Napoli
Napoli has separated itself from Italy’s competition this season thanks to a string of ruthless performances and a growing number of goals. They also shocked the world with their magnificent skills during the opening round of the Champions League.
More recently, Campania’s team rose to the top of the standings by 18 points after defeating Sassuolo on the road on Friday. However, Inter’s victory against Udinese 24 hours later reduced their lead.
Kvaratskhelia gave Spalletti’s team the lead after 12 minutes, and Osimhen added a second to give them their eighth consecutive Serie A victory. Osimhen has scored 18 goals in his 19 top-flight outings, and Napoli has won 18 of their previous 19 league games.
They have only lost once in the league this year, against second-placed Inter in their first game back from the World Cup, but they did lose to the bottom-feeding Cremonese in the Coppa Italia after fielding a depleted squad.
The success-starved Partenopei already appear to be in line for their first Scudetto since 1990. Still, coach Luciano Spalletti may be excited about his club’s chances of making it to Istanbul after they scored 20 goals in Group A, the highest of any team during the group stage.
Napoli UCL Form: W W W W L
Napoli Form (All Competitions): W W W W W
⚽️ Most goals and assists combined in Serie A this season:
? Victor Osimhen – 21
? Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – 19? Napoli's dynamic duo spearheading their title push! pic.twitter.com/HGxAeryB2n
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) February 18, 2023
Squad Report
Eintracht Frankfurt
Oliver Glasner could make at least a few changes on Tuesday night despite his team’s victory over Werder at the weekend. He has practically the entire squad available for selection.
Except for Eric Dina Ebimbe, who is still out with an ankle issue, Frankfurt has no other serious fitness issues.
Napoli
Concerns over Victor Osimhen, who has now scored in seven straight Serie A games, were swiftly allayed by Luciano Spalletti when the in-form striker hobbled off in Friday’s victory at Sassuolo.
Giacomo Raspadori, who performed admirably on the group stage, cannot play due to a muscular injury.
Eintracht Frankfurt predicted lineup (3-4-2-1):
Trapp: Smolcic, N’Dicka, Tuta, Buta, Kamada, Sow, Max: Lindstrom, Gotze: Kolo Muani
Napoli predicted lineup (4-3-3):
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Kim, Rrahmani, Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Lozano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia
Head to Head
This will be the third meeting between Eintracht Frankfurt and Napoli, with the German side winning the previous two in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup in 1994-95 (1-0 home and away).
Date, time & Venue
Date: Tuesday, February 21
Time: 08:00 pm GMT
Venue: Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt
Prediction
As both teams have been hesitant to change their backlines in the Champions League, this won’t be a one-sided contest. Instead, Frankfurt will provide us with a show with numerous goals on both ends.
But, the away team will edge over the home team and grab a slim lead in the first leg.
