The match of matchday 8 of the group stage of the 2025/26 Champions League between Napoli (Italy) and Chelsea (England) will take place on 28 january at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples. Napoli vs Chelsea: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Napoli
Napoli are in a very dangerous position. In the last Champions League round the home side managed only a draw away at Copenhagen (1:1), despite playing a full hour with a numerical advantage. As a result the home side dropped out of the play-off zone, slipping to 25th place in the table. They trail three rivals only on tiebreakers, but a win may be the only acceptable result to reach the knockout phase. In case of a draw everything will depend on the outcomes of the parallel matches. The team have won only 1 of their last 5 Champions League matches; overall, after 7 rounds of the group stage the side has 2 wins and 8 points.
- The team conceded in 7 of their previous 9 Champions League matches.
- Napoli have not lost in 9 of their last 11 home matches against English clubs in European competitions (8 wins, 1 draw).
- The home side scored in 23 of their previous 24 matches on home soil in the Champions League.
Potential Napoli Lineup (3-4-3)
Vanja Milinković-Savić – Alessandro Buongiorno, Juan Jesus, Giovanni Di Lorenzo – Miguel Gutiérrez, Stanislav Lobotka, Scott McTominay, Leonardo Spinazzola – Eljif Elmas, Rasmus Hojlund, Noa Lang.
Goalkeeper Alex Meret, defender Amir Rrahmani, midfielders André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Billy Gilmour and Kevin De Bruyne, as well as forwards Matteo Politano and David Neres will miss the match due to injuries.
Chelsea
Chelsea secured a hard-fought but important victory over Pafos (1:0) last Wednesday. As a result the visiting team moved into the top eight and guaranteed at least a place in the play-off zone. However, the table is tightly packed, so remaining in the top eight will most likely require a win against Napoli. Against this backdrop, note that so far this season the team has yet to win away in the Champions League, having collected 12 of their 13 points at home. At the same time the club has lost only 2 of their last 12 matches at the group or overall stage of the Champions League (8 wins, 2 draws), and in their previous 20 European matches Chelsea secured 16 victories.
- The team scored in all 7 matches in the current Champions League campaign.
- Chelsea lost 6 of their last 7 away matches against clubs from Italy in UEFA competitions.
- At least 3 goals were scored in 4 of Chelsea's last 5 Champions League games.
Potential Chelsea Lineup (4-5-1)
Robert Sanchez – Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah, Malo Gusto, Benoit Badiashile – Reece James, Enzo Fernandez, Alejandro Garnacho, Moises Caicedo, Pedro Neto – Liam Delap.
Defenders Levi Colwill and Tosin Adarabioyo, as well as midfielder Romeo Lavia, will miss the game due to injuries. Midfielder Cole Palmer has a doubtful status for the match.
Referee
Clément Turpin (France)
Matches – 8 (International matches, 2025/26);
Total Yellow Cards Shown (Including Second Yellows) – 33;
Average Yellow Cards Per Match – 4.1;
Red Cards Shown – 2;
Fouls Per Match – 24;
Penalties – 75%.
Napoli Vs Chelsea: Match Prediction
Napoli have shown middling form in the Champions League, with only 2 wins from the previous 7 rounds. For qualification to the knockout stage the team urgently needs at least 1 point; ideally they must extract the maximum. It is therefore crucial that the decisive match will be played at home. The home side have not lost any of their three home matches in this season's Champions League, collecting 7 points from 9 possible. In fact, Napoli have only 1 defeat in their last 20 European home matches with crowd support in this competition.
Chelsea also have motivation, as the club needs a win to keep a place in the automatic qualification zone for the round of 16. However, earlier in the current European season the team has won exclusively at home, with the last 3 away matches yielding only 1 point. Overall Chelsea have failed to win in 5 successive Champions League away matches (1 draw, 4 defeats).
Prediction: Napoli Or Draw
