Napoli vs Chelsea betting

Napoli form: WWLDD

It is remarkable to see Napoli sixth in the Serie A and in the last sixteen of the Champions League when you see how far they have had to come since 2004. In that year, they went bankrupt and had to be reformed under the name “Napoli Soccer” in the Italian third division. However, backed by a huge fan base they have managed to work themselves back up to the heights they were once at before and have managed to retain their old name. Since 2009, Walter Mazzarri has been the manager and he has been successful; guiding Napoli to a third place finish last season and an automatic Champions League spot. Mazzarri will be serving a touchline ban on tuesday night so he will be replaced by assistant Nicolo Frustalupi but star players Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi and free-scoring Edinson Cavani will all be starting. Napoli managed to progess from the “Group of Death” last round, which included Bayern Munich, Villareal and Premiership leaders Manchester City so they are a threat that Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas will not take lightly. They boast a strong home record, backed by a vociferous home support that will be doing all they can to create a hostile atmosphere, and have lost only six times there since September 2010.

Chelsea form: DLDDW

The Londoners are currently in terrible form, which has led to a lot of speculation surrounding the future of Andre Villas-Boas, a man who Chelsea paid £13million to prize from FC Porto last summer. Failure to see off Championship side Birmingham City at the weekend in the FA Cup will have further angered their supporters and they will be demanding a top display in Italy on tuesday night. Winning the Champions League has always been owner Roman Abramovich’s main ambition and failure to get past Napoli in the last sixteen could cause more damage to Villas-Boas’ position then their current league form. Didier Drogba looks set to replace the misfiring Fernando Torres in attack after returning from the African Cup of Nations with a runners up medal. Chelsea have been inconsistent at the best of times this season and with rumours going round of a split dressing room it will be crucial for Chelsea to do what Manchester City didn’t this season and come back from Napoli without losing.

Match Prediction: Napoli to win 2.40 – William Hill

Given both teams current state of affairs, Napoli appear to be the favourites in this one. Dressing room unrest and poor recent results mean that Chelsea head into this one low on confidence and under a lot of pressure. The home side’s Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani has been in awesome form again this season, firing in fifteen goals in twenty-two matches and he will be a huge threat to a Chelsea defence that may be missing John Terry. Chelsea will also be relieved to have the likes of Didier Drogba back up front, and he will be a threat to a Napoli defence that has conceded just one goal in their last five games. It will be a very intimidating atmosphere at the Stadio San Paolo and Chelsea will do very well to come back without being on the end of a defeat.

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