Napoli vs Villarreal Prediction and Preview – 25/02/16
Europa League preview – Napoli vs Villarreal prediction.
Napoli midfielder Jorginho recovered from a virus that kept him out of the match at Villarreal to star in the 1-1 draw against Milan on Monday. It means Maurizio Sarri has a fully fit squad to choose from in a bid to overcome the 1-0 first leg deficit. Goalkeeper Pepe Reina has been sharing Europa League duty with Rafael but could keep his place for the second leg. Gonzalo Higuain and Lorenzo Insigne were rested for the first leg and may again give way to Manolo Gabbiadini and Dries Mertens.
Villarreal midfielder Jonathan Dos Santos was injured in the first leg and will join Samu Garcia on the sidelines. Left winger Samuel Castillejo can switch to the right allowing first leg match winner Denis Suarez to take his natural position on the left. Centre forward Adrian Lopez and defender Eric Bailey have returned from injury to give coach Marcelino extra options.
Possible Line-ups
Napoli 4-3-3 formation: Reina; Hysaj, Chiriches, Koulibaly, Strinic; Hamsik, Valdifiori, Lopez; Callejon, Gabbiadini, Mertens
Villarreal 4-4-2 formation: Areola; Gaspar, Musacchio, Ruiz, Costa; Castillejo, Trigueros, Bruno, Suarez; Baptistao, Soldado
Statistics
- Napoli have won 6 drawn 1 and lost 3 of their last 10 matches
- Villarreal have won 5 drawn 3 and lost 2 of their last 10 matches
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Napoli have scored an average of 2.1 goals and conceded an average of 1 goal per game
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Villarreal have scored an average of 0.9 goals and conceded an average of 0.6 goals per game
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 4 of Napoli’s previous 10 matches
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 2 of Villarreal’s previous 10 matches
Prediction
Napoli beat Villarreal 2-0 when the sides last met at the San Paolo stadium in 2011 and Sarri’s side require a similar result on Thursday to progress to the last 16 of the Europa League. Napoli have not scored more than one goal in the last four games and created few good chances despite totally dominating Milan in the last game. Leading scorer Gonzalo Higuain has now gone three games without a goal and only Insigne looks capable of sharing the burden.
Villarreal are on a seven-game unbeaten run and put up a fine defensive performance to hold Atletico Madrid to a goalless draw at Vicente Calderon on Sunday. Marcelino’s men have only lost one of their last seven away games and have kept clean sheets on the last two road trips.
Napoli’s top scorers look likely to be rested which gives Villarreal a strong chance to hold out for the draw they need to progress.
Tips
Draw at 22/5 with Marathonbet
Under 2.5 goals at 51/50 with Marathonbet
Correct Score 0-0 at 11/1 with Paddy Power
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