Napoli is in a great mood for the start of the European competition. Rino Gattuso’s charges defeated Atalanta (4:1) in the last round of the Italian championship at home. Irving Lozano scored a double. Another goal scored by Victor Osimien and Matteo Politano. In the Europa League “parthenope” took part not so long ago. Back in the 18/19 season they got into the playoffs of the tournament after being eliminated from the Champions League. The Italians reached the quarterfinals, where they were defeated with a final score of 3:0 from Arsenal. Napoli played in the group stage for the last time in the 2015/2016 season. Curiously, the team won 6 times in 6 rounds, scoring 22 goals and conceding 3. So far, 22 goals in the LE group is one of the best indicators in the history of the tournament. According to the latest information, the Italians have no injured or disqualified members. The last 3 games of the Neapolitans at home in the Europa League ended with a bet on “both will score – no”.
Liverpool are preparing for the match against Ajax in a terrible mood. In the Merseyside derby the Reds’ stronghold, Virgil van Dyck, was injured this weekend. And, apparently, the butterscotch goalkeeper deliberately injured the defender. The meeting ended with the score (2:2) and given the defeat to Aston Villa (2:7) two weeks ago, Liverpool should go to the meeting with the proper mood. Van Dyck’s injury will be an extremely serious test for the Reds, because without the Dutchman the Merseyside’s team has not actually played since his arrival. However, this can force the team to mobilize. In the Champions League Liverpool will play for the fourth time in a row. All three previous times the “red” group passed. Jurgen Klopp’s wards reached the final twice, one of which they won. However, last season Liverpool were eliminated in the round of 16 from Atl?tico. It is worth noting that Liverpool are mediocre away in the Champions League: they have 8 defeats in 13 previous matches. Last season, the Reds lost to Napoli (0:2), defeated Genk (4:1), defeated Salzburg (2:0) and lost to Atl?tico (0:1). In addition to Van Dyke’s injury, Liverpool have other staffing problems. Alisson Becker and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are in the infirmary. Leighton Clarkson is disqualified. The participation of Joel Matip, Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara is in doubt.
