Today it is going to be the 2nd night of Champions League 2022/2023 and of many exciting matches, one is Napoli vs Liverpool. While Napoli is comfortably sitting at 2nd place in the league table, Liverpool is at 7th with only 2 wins this season, surely not a start Jurgen Klopp would have expected from his side.
Data analysis from league matches of both the teams says there is not much difference between both in terms of shots per goal, overall expected goals, ball progression, Aerials won, duels won, and other defensive stats. To be honest, what stands out to be good for other leagues is not enough for the top 4 in Premier League. That doesn’t mean Liverpool can take the draw any lightly, because this is Champions League and already Chelsea has been surprised.
Concerns:
So far this season, Liverpool has already started to feel the lack of Sadio Mane in their forward. In the midfield, injury of Thiago has reduced the creativity to score. Moreover, they didn’t sign a ball-carrying & creative midfield which have been the talk of the town and they are facing a depth crisis in their midfield, with Millner and Henderson being 36 and 32 respectively and are no more being able to match the Premier League intensity. All their chances have been created from the 2 flanks and in ratio, they have done sideways passing much more than progressive passing .
Positives we can expect :
Though Liverpool is suffering in the midfield, their 20 yrs old prospect Fabio Carvalho being inconsistent has shown signs of excellence , scoring already 2 premier league goals and if he stays in form Liverpool fans can expect a better midfield. Probably Thiago would also be in the starting lineup and would be providing the required creativity for chance creations. Obviously, Napoli would be all around Mohamed Salah, but whenever he is on the pitch he feels like a huge threat. Luiz Diaz would surely be causing all kinds of trouble from that left-hand flank and probably Firmino over Darwin Nunez. On the midfield, Fabinho would probably give the required stability to create proper scoring chances.
In short, Liverpool despite having a sloppy start to their season has a decent chance of winning the match against Napoli, given Liverpool plays like Liverpool.
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