Benfica vs Napoli

Benfica [LLLLW] return to the Estádio da Luz on Matchday 6 looking for back-to-back Champions League wins for the first time this season as they welcome Napoli to Lisbon. The Portuguese side are still recovering from a difficult start to the campaign but finally claimed their first points on Matchday 5. Benfica have improved their record against Italian opponents in recent years, losing only two of the last eight fixtures. However, their results at home tell a more mixed story. The Eagles won four of their first six matches in Lisbon against Italian visitors, but only three of the following 12. They have also managed just one win in their last five home games against Serie A opposition. Their wider Champions League home form reflects this inconsistency. The 2-0 win away at Ajax on Matchday 5 ended both a six-game winless run in the competition and a goal drought of three matches, but it did not solve the ongoing challenge in front of their home supporters. Benfica have won only one of their last 12 Champions League home fixtures and are without a home victory in the competition in seven games. They will be keen to end that winless streak on Wednesday, when they host the Serie A champions. A 4—3—2—1 formation with Vangelis Pavlidis in attack is expected against Napoli.

Napoli [WLWDW] have had the better of this fixture historically, winning three of the four meetings between the teams. Their most recent encounters came in the 2016/17 group stage, where they earned a 4-2 win at home and a 2-1 victory in Portugal. Napoli travel with a contrasting record against Portuguese clubs. They have lost just two of their 15 meetings with teams from Portugal, winning nine, and have claimed five straight victories in such fixtures. They have also won their last two visits to the country by the same 2-1 scoreline, most recently at Braga in the 2023/24 group stage. Yet their travelling form in this season’s league phase has been less convincing. All seven of Napoli’s points have come at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, and they arrive in Lisbon having lost their last four away Champions League matches, including a heavy 6-2 defeat at PSV Eindhoven on Matchday 3 – the biggest European Cup defeat in the club’s history. There will also be a familiar face on Napoli’s side. David Neres, who scored 17 goals in 83 appearances for Benfica, returns to Lisbon after joining the Italian club in August. Rasmus Højlund, who bagged a brace in the 2-1 win over Juventus on Sunday, is expected at the attacking end of Napoli’s 4—2—3—1 setup.