The first group stage match of UEFA Champions League season 2022/2023 starts on 6 September 2022. The most exciting group stage fixture is Napoli vs Liverpool alongside PSG vs Juventus.
Last season’s runner-up Liverpool in the Champions League kickoff their campaign in Italy with Napoli on Thursday, 8 September 2022, at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Napoli has been one of the top teams in Serie A for the last few years. They are back in UCL after failing to qualify in 2020-2021. The last time they played in the Champions League was in the 2019-2020 campaign when they got kicked out of the Round of 16 by Barcelona.
Liverpool will try another deep run in the UCL after failing to win it the previous year. Liverpool has been drawn with Ajax, Napoli, and Rangers in the group stage.
Napoli vs Liverpool: Head-to-Head
Napoli vs Liverpool has played 4 matches against each other in UCL with a result in favor of Liverpool.
This is their 5th meeting in four years. Since the 2018/2019 season, Liverpool and Napoli have been a regular fixture in the Champions League.
Furthermore, if we look at their previous league matches, Liverpool has won 2, tied 3, and lost 1, whereas Napoli has won 3 and tied 2.
| Teams | Wins | Draws | Loss |
| Liverpool | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Napoli | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Napoli form guide: W-W-D-D-W
Liverpool form guide: D-D-L-W-W-D
Team News
Liverpool
Liverpool has named their 24-player squad ahead of the group stage clash with Napoli. Jurgen Klopp’s team will kick off their campaign with a touch-away tip to Serie A giant Napoli.
The two noticeable absentees from the squad will be midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita. Due to their injury absentees, neither will feature anytime soon.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Allison Becker, Adrian, Caoimhin Kelleher
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Calvin Ramsay, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip, Nathaniel Phillips, Andy Roberson, Kostas Tsimikas
Midfielders: Fabinho, Jordon Henderson, Thiago, James Milner, Arthur Melo, Stefan Bajcetic
Forwards: Mohammad Salah, Roberto Firmino, Luiz Diaz, Diego Jota, Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho
Injured: Ibrahima Konate, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Jordon Henderson,
Doubtful: Caoimhin Kelleher, Thiago, Fabio Carvalho, Joel Matip
Suspended: None
Napoli
Liverpool is not the only side facing injury issues at the early stage of the season; Napoli also has the same problem within the team. The 27-player squad ahead of their group stage campaign are:
Squad
Goalkeepers: Alex Meret, Davide Marfella, Salvatore Sirigu, Hubert Dawid
Defenders: KIM Min-jae, Mathias Olivera, Leo Skiri ostigard, Alessandro zanilo, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Juan Jesus, Amir Rrahmani, Mario Rui
Midfielders: Karim Zedadka, Gianluca Gaetano, Stanislav Lobotka, Diego Demme, Andre-Frank Zambo, Tanguy Ndombele, Elif Elmas, Piotr Zielinski
Forward: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Hirving Lozano, Giacomo Raspadori, Giovanni Simeone, matteo politano, Alessio Zerbin
Injured: Victor Osimhen
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Napoli vs Liverpool: Last 5 Game Performance Analysis
| Last 5 Matches Performance | Napoli | Liverpool |
| Possessions | 56.6 | 69.4% |
| Goals scored | 12 | 14 |
| Pass Accuracy | 83.6 | 84% |
| Fouls per Game | 11.4 | 8 |
| Goals conceded | 4 | 3 |
| Shots | 17.4 | 21.2 |
| Shots received | 7.4 | 8.5 |
| Goals per Game | 2.4 | 2.8 |
| Goals Conceded per Game | 0.8 | 0.6 |
Players To Watch Out For
Some players from both clubs are in searing forms. Players to watch out for are:
Roberto Firmino
After the Departure of Sadio Mane from the Liverpool to Bayern Munich. Roberto Firmino is the leading man who commands the Liverpool front line with Mohammad salah. Bobby has always been the crucial part of Liverpool attacks.
This season he has scored 3 goals and 3 assists in 6 league matches. Due to the injury issue in the Liverpool attack and the silent form of Salah, Bobby has single-handedly carried out.
Brazilian talisman has scored 21 goals and 12 assists in UCL for Liverpool. He is 4th highest goal scorer and assists provider in Liverpool behind.
Virgil Van Dijk
Since he arrived from Southampton in 2015, big Virgil has been the leading man behind the Liverpool defense.
Source: Instagram
He is outstanding in the areal duel, interception, tackles, and ball distribution. His positioning is one of his great strengths. Rarely will Virgil be caught out of the position and running to try and catch up with play.
Liverpool has never lost a match at Anfield after the arrival of Van Dijk. He has kept 2 clean sheets this season.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
This Georgian winger joined the Serie A side on 1 July 2022 and became the squad’s pivotal player. He has scored 4 goals, and 1 assist in 5 league matches.
Source: Instagram
After the departure of players like Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens, Kvaratshelia and Osimhen has been the leading man for Napoli.
Kim Min-Jae
The South Korean center-back is the heart of the Napoli defense. Due to his strong defensive ability, Napoli has the least goal conceded in the league. Due to his presence in the reason, Napoli can play the fluid game, making them very dangerous in the attack.
As a central defender, Kim has excellent physical attributes, speed, flexibility, and strong predictive ability. He is also very good at aerial duels and ball positioning.
Predicted Starting XI
Napoli XI (4-3-3): Alex Meret, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kim Min-jae, Amir Rrahmani, Mario Rui, Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski, Andre-Frank Zambo, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Victor Osimhen
Liverpool (4-3-3): Allison, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Arthur Melo, Harvy Elliott, Mohammad Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luiz Diaz
Napoli vs Liverpool Match Prediction
Though Liverpool has an excellent squad and world-class players, they haven’t been able to perform at their best this season. Their match record against Italian teams isn’t good, and they have struggled to win matches in Italy.
On the other hand, Napoli will be missing their star player Victor Osimhen who was in exciting form this season.
Despite the injury issue, Liverpool has the upper hand over Napoli. But history shows that Liverpool has never managed to win against Napoli in Italy.
Prediction: Napoli 1-1 Liverpool
Match Broadcasting
Napoli vs Liverpool will kick off at 8:00 PM (UK time).
USA: CBS Network.
UK: BT Sports.
France: beIN Sports.
Italy: Sky Sports Italia, Amazon Prime Video.
India/Nepal: Sony Liv, Sony Ten 2.
