Napoli will look to continue their perfect Champions League record this season when they play host to Rangers on Wednesday.
The Italian side have been in blistering form since the start of the campaign and are heavy favourites to beat an out-of-sorts guest, who travel with manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst under pressure for his job.
Things in Naples, though, are going in a contrasting manner, with the Italians sitting pretty atop Serie A and already through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Napoli v Rangers Bet Builder Tips
Napoli -2 Handicap
This encounter is a huge mismatch, with Napoli one of the form teams in Europe right now, having won each of their last 11 matches in all competitions. Rangers, meanwhile, are struggling to get results even in the Scottish Premiership and find themselves coming off the back of a 7-1 loss at home to Liverpool in the Champions League.
Napoli have been irresistible in the competition to date, scoring an incredible 17 goals in four matches. Indeed, the only occasion that they did not find then net at least four times was at Ibrox, although they certainly threatened it.
The Italian side won 3-0 in Scotland, when the gulf in class between the teams was apparent. It has only grown since then.
A more conservative play would be to back Napoli at -1, but the evidence from previous European matches this season suggests they should have enough to blow their opponents away.
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Prediction: Napoli -2 Handicap
Both Teams to Score – No
Napoli have not been especially sound defensively in the Champions League this season and have conceded four goals in four matches, yet such was the different between themselves and Rangers in the previous encounter between the clubs, they gave up only one chance of note, which fell to Alfredo Morelos in the first minute.
Indeed, Rangers have been ineffective offensively in Europe this season. The Gers have scored once in four matches, which was a nicely taken effort from Scott Arfield in their previous encounter against Liverpool. Indeed, they have struggled to even fashion chances in their games, finding themselves hopelessly out of their depth.
Over the course of their four fixtures, Rangers have managed just 10 shots on target and have produced an xG of just 2.4. When only away matches are considered, their record becomes even worse, with 0.77 xG across their two road fixtures.
Napoli do have a tendency to leave themselves open, but they’ve got nothing to fear from this Rangers side.
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Prediction: Both Teams to Score – No
Under 3.5 Cards
It would be surprising if this were to be a feisty match, so backing under four bookings looks excellent value. Rangers are likely to play the game much as they did when they faced Liverpool at Anfield. On that occasion, they managed to prevent their opponents getting in behind them, limiting the need to make tactical fouls and defending in a disciplined manner around the box. It meant there was just a single booking in the game.
They saw as many as six cards when they faced Napoli at Ibrox, but on that occasion they were much more attacking in their style, leaving gaps that they were always scrambling to plug. On top of that, they could consider themselves a little unlucky with James Sands’ sending off and the booking for Borna Barisic when he conceded the penalty.
Napoli, meanwhile, will want to keep their discipline tight before the knockout rounds. Matteo Politano stands on two bookings, so there is the possibility of a tactical caution for the midfielder to miss Liverpool next week, but otherwise there should be a desire from the home side to keep their noses as clean as possible.
Referee Halil Umut Meler showed only two yellow cards in his previous Champions League match this season – Celtic vs RB Leipzig. He averages a little over four bookings per game, but take out three high-stakes fixtures that have produced 23 cards and that figure drops to below two. There is not that much riding on this game, so expect to see his more lenient approach.
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Prediction: Under 3.5 Cards
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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Napoli v Rangers Cheat Sheet
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How to watch Napoli v Rangers in the Champions League
📅 When is Napoli v Rangers? / Wednesday 26th October 2022, 20:00
🏟 Where is Napoli v Rangers? / Diego Armando Maradona Stadium (Naples)
📺 What TV channel is Napoli v Rangers on? / BT Sport 4
🟨 …And who is the referee for Napoli v Rangers? / Halil Umut Meler 🇹🇷
