Champions League
2026-01-28 - Napoli vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League Match Day 8
Wednesday 28th January 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Napoli
Taking over a club that had missed European Football and helping them win the title is becoming a trend for Antonio Conte as he prepares to take his current Napoli team into a match against one of his former clubs Chelsea. He achieved that title success in his first season as manager of Chelsea back in 2018 and repeated the feat for Napoli last season, but the following year was difficult at Stamford Bridge.
There is every sign that his second season in charge of Napoli is going to be equally challenging and Conte is under pressure after a big defeat this past weekend. His team are still in the top four in Serie A, but the title defence has faltered and Napoli are also struggling to progress to the Knock Out Rounds of the Champions League with the team entering Match Day 8 in 25th place.
Napoli have won 1 of the last 6 games in all competitions and were beaten 3-0 at Juventus this past weekend to build some pressure on the manager. Playing at home will help the players with the squad stretched through injury and Napoli have yet to lose here this season, while winning 2 of 3 Champions League games played in front of the passionate supporters.
Antonio Conte is going to be without a number of key names in this final Champions League Group game, but he has praised those available for giving all they can.
Chelsea
Results and performances like the one produced at Selhurst Park on Sunday will give Liam Rosenior the authority as Chelsea manager that is perhaps missing in the eyes of the fans right now. There is little doubt that Rosenior is inexperienced at this level, but his Chelsea players have produced some solid opening results and that will allow the manager to bed in and get his ideas implemented.
The performance in the last Champions League game was not the most convincing, but Chelsea were able to beat Pafos and that means they are 8th in the standings. One more win would likely mean direct entry into the Last 16, but Chelsea will be vulnerable to dropping into the PlayOff Knock Out Round next month if they are unable to improve the disappointing 0-1-2 away record in this League Phase.
Chelsea have won 4 of the 5 games played in all competitions under the new manager, although the game at Selhurst Park on Sunday is the second away fixture played. The Blues have won both away games under Liam Rosenior having won 1 of 7 away games in all competitions prior to that.
Cole Palmer missed the game on Sunday and is a doubt, while there is likely going to be some rotation to manage minutes of key players.
Head to Head
These two clubs have only met once before in the 2011/12 Knock Out Rounds of the Champions League.
Both teams won home ties by the same 3-1 scoreline in normal time, although it was Chelsea who progressed in the Second Leg having scored again in Extra Time at Stamford Bridge.
Prediction
This is a really important game for both Napoli and Chelsea on the final day of the Champions League Group Stage.
Injuries have been a big issue for Antonio Conte's Napoli team, but there will be no excuses if they are eliminated before the Knock Out Rounds of the Champions League.
Last week they were guilty of dropping two points against ten man Copenhagen and Napoli can only really feel confident in their chances of progressing if they can win this game.
Beating Chelsea is not going to be easy with the away team looking a little more confident and settled under Liam Rosenior- the performances have been a little erratic, but they have been putting in the hard yards and the win at Selhurst Park will have given the Chelsea squad a real boost.
Three points in Naples will take Chelsea through to the Last 16 of the Champions League and avoiding adding two more games to the February schedule would be a bonus.
However, playing in Napoli is always hugely challenging and the Italian Champions have been in good form here all season.
That alone makes it tough to see Chelsea as favourites to win here, even if Napoli are dealing with a big injury crisis right now.
The performances at home/away respectively of the two teams also suggests Napoli are being a touch underrated and the home team may have enough to secure a positive result, although still listening out for results around Europe to see if that is enough to take them through to the next Round.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Napoli 1-1 Chelsea
