Napoli vs Real Madrid

Stadio Diego Armando Maradona forms the backdrop for a top-table Champions League Group C six-pointer between Napoli and Real Madrid.

Reigning Scudetto holders Napoli were lucky to walk away from Sporting Braga with three points, with Sikou Niakate’s late own goal handing them a 2-1 win on matchday one. That slender victory forms part of Napoli’s five-match unbeaten run in all competitions (W3, D2) since a dreadful 2-0 loss to Lazio in early September. Rudi Garcia’s men have hit the ground running lately, winning back-to-back Serie A games over the past seven days via an aggregate score of 8-1 to set themselves up nicely for this ominous-looking fixture. Indeed, ‘I Partenopei’ have yet to beat Real Madrid in the Champions League (D1, L3), including a 3-1 home loss in their most recent H2H in 2017. However, they’ve only lost once in 16 Champions League outings at the Maradona Stadium since (W11, D4), going down to Manchester City.

On the other hand, Real Madrid eked out a narrow 1-0 home win against Champions League debutants Union Berling on day one, courtesy of Jude Bellingham’s stoppage-time winner. But Carlo Ancelotti’s men slumped to a woeful 3-1 derby loss to Atletico Madrid the following weekend, relinquishing a perfect six-game start to 2023/24 across all competitions (W6). Despite lacking several significant first-team figures due to injuries, ‘Los Blancos’ have done a sterling job getting back on track, racking up back-to-back La Liga wins by 2+ goals ‘to nil’ in the build-up to this fixture. After a 3-0 triumph against Girona at the weekend, they’ll be confident of maintaining an impressive run of form on Italian soil, having won their last five such matches ‘to nil.’