PSG look to claim Napoli scalp

Paris Saint-Germain will look to claim the scalp of Italian giants Napoli when the teams meet in a UEFA Champions League Group D match at Parc des Princes on Wednesday, 24 October 2018, kick-off at 21h00 CAT.

Napoli is the leaders of Group D, with four points from two matches. They defeated English heavyweights Liverpool 1-0 (thanks to a late strike from Lorenzo Insigne) earlier in the month to rise to the head of the standings.

They come into the clash in fine form, having claimed a 3-0 away win over Udinese this past weekend (with strikes from Fabian Ruiz, Dries Mertens and Marko Rog) which revived their title hopes in Serie A.

“It was an important win and it felt good to get a clean sheet too. I like everyone’s game tonight, our strikers did very well too,” said manager Carlo Ancelotti. In regards to facing PSG he added, “It will be a great game for sure and we are ready for this challenge. We want to do well and we know that it will be a crucial game.”

PSG are level with Liverpool in second place on the Group D standings, having thrashed Red Star Belgrade 6-1 (with a hat-trick from Brazilian superstar Neymar) in their last European clash. The French champions racked up a sixth successive win across all competitions (scoring 26 goals in the process) when they crushed Amiens 5-0 in Ligue 1 this past weekend.

Paris manager Thomas Tuchel has backed misfiring striker Edinson Cavani to rediscover his form when they face their Italian opponents in the Champions League.

“It’s normal that a real number nine like him is sad when he has not scored,” Tuchel said after the Uruguayan had an off day against Amiens.

“Maybe it was better to take him out after an hour of play but I left him on the field because I was hoping he would score a goal. That was not the case but he can score against Napoli.”

PSG v Napoli – Head-to-Head, European competition

In head-to-head terms, PSG and Napoli have met in just two European matches: both were in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup, with the French side winning 2-0 in Naples (with goals from Liberia’s current president George Weah) before a goalless draw in the return game in Paris.

Matches played 2
PSG wins 1
Napoli wins 0
Draws 1

Last five results – UEFA Champions League

PSG | W | L | L | L | L
Napoli | W | D | L | W | L