Napoli vs. Ajax preview and predicted lineups
Eight days since its 6-1 thrashing in Amsterdam, Ajax will look to bounce back against Napoli in Group A to keep its UEFA Champions League hopes alive.
Luciano Spalletti's side dominated Ajax the last time out, with the Dutch club suffering one of its worst losses. A victory on Wednesday in Italy for Napoli will seal its spot in the knockout rounds of the competition. Ajax must win to keep up with Liverpool in the fight for second place in the group.
Napoli is in all competitions and is looking like one of the more entertaining teams in Europe. Talents such as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, André-Frank Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone have impressed. Ajax, meanwhile, has struggled to fully adapt to life without Erik ten Hag in charge. Its poor results in Europe and unconvincing performances in the league under new manager Alfred Schreuder are noteworthy.
The Dutchman was criticized last week for making his substitutions too late against Napoli, despite the players on the field performing poorly throughout the game.
Ajax will be without captain Dusan Tadic in Italy as the Serbian will serve his one-match suspension after his red card against Napoli in the previous game. Francisco Conceicao or Lucas Ocampos will likely replace Tadic on the wing as the Dutch side will look for creativity in attack.
Defender Amir Rrahmani is an injury doubt for the home side, with Norwegian Leo Ostigard likely to come into the Napoli backline if needed. A big boost for Spalletti is that his star striker Victor Osimhen is available again after a spell on the sideline.
Napoli predicted lineup: Alex Meret, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kim Min-jae, Leo Ostigard, Mario Rui, Andre-Frank Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka, Matteo Politano, Piotr Zielinski, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giacomo Raspadori.
Ajax predicted lineup: Remko Pasveer, Devyne Rensch, Jurrien Timber, Calvin Bassey, Daley Blind, Steven Berghuis, Edson Alvarez, Kenneth Taylor, Lucas Ocampos, Mohammed Kudus and Steven Bergwijn.
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