Napoli vs Chelsea FC: UEFA Champions League live scores, blog

 
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By , 22 Feb 2012 The Crowd is a Roar Guru

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Premier League giants Chelsea FC will need to put their domestic woes behind them if they are to upstage Napoli in Italy in the first leg of this Champions League round of 16 tie. Join us for live scores and blog from 6:30am AEDT.

It is fair to say that Chelsea is in a spot of bother heading into a difficult Champions League tie against Napoli.

The English Premier League outfit is on a four-match winless streak which included last week’s meek draw against Birmingham City in the FA Cup.

Napoli, on the other hand, has won their last two matches in Serie A, and were particularly impressive last week when they defeated rivals Fiorentina 3-0.

With a maiden Champions League quarter-final berth on the line, expect Napoli to be full of running early on as they aim to inflict further woe on Chelsea’s stuttering season.

Prediction:

This has the makings of a great contest given that both sides possess some terrific attacking talent.

Napoli’s chances of beating Chelsea at home will largely rest on the performances of strikers Marek Hamsik, Edison Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Cavani has scored 15 goals thus far in the Serie A and has certified himself as one of Europe’s most dangerous forwards.

Hamsik and Lavezzi, meanwhile, are renowned for their speed and creativity out wide, so expect them to really test the positioning and defensive skills of Chelsea duo Jose Bosingwa and Branislav Ivanovic, who are expected to start the match.

Chelsea, however, has a few attacking options of their own, but the form of key striker Fernando Torres remains a huge concern for manager Andres Villas-Boas.

The former Liverpool FC forward has failed to shine for Chelsea since his big money switch from Anfield, and can ill-afford to continue his goal scoring drought on such a big stage.

At his best, Torres is the match winner here for Chelsea but his new reputation as one of Europe’s most expensive flops will continue to grow if he produces another shocker in front of goal against Napoli.

Torres’ Spanish teammate Juan Mata, however, has proven to be a good signing for Chelsea and looks the most likely to give Napoli’s defence problems.

The 23-year-old has had a good season thus far, with his speed and creativity on the wing likely to cause Napoli defender Paolo Cannavaro some headaches.

With both teams fairly evenly matched, Napoli’s home ground advantage may just give them the edge against Chelsea this morning.

Chelsea has traditionally struggled in Italy, winning only once in seven visits. Add the fact that Napoli is undefeated at home in the Champions League this season and it appears that the Serie A side are well placed to take a slender advantage into the second leg at Stamford Bridge.

Napoli to win 2-1.

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