Reigning European Champions Real Madrid will be hosting Italian Serie A squad Napoli in Champions League round of 16 action at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu this Wednesday, February 15th. The second-leg of the home-and-away two-game series will be played in Italy on Tuesday, March 7th. Madrid is aiming for their seventh straight quarterfinal appearance while Napoli is playing in the final16 for just the second time.
Real Madrid vs Napoli – bet365 Soccer Betting Line:
- bet365 currently lists Real Madrid as the favorites to win the game at 8/15 with Napoli 5/1 and a draw at 10/3
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Real Madrid vs Napoli – Head to Head:
- The two cubs have met just twice in competitive action in the past with Real Madrid winning one and drawing the other. They also outscored Napoli 3-1 in the two games. Madrid and Napoli met in the first round of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup in 1987/88 and with Madrid winning 2-0 at home and drawing 1-1 away.
Real Madrid – A Closer Look:
Real Madrid has added Abner and Achraf Hakimi to their Champions League rooster and have taken Martin Odegaard and Borja Sánchez off of it. Real is battling it out with Barcelona and Sevilla for the Spanish League title this year as the club goes after its 33rd domestic crown. They enter this match with 28 wins in their past 33 European matches at home. Real didn’t have their best group stage showing as they finished second to Borussia Dortmund in Group F with three wins and three draws. They had 16 goals for and 10 against
Real Madrid is aiming to become the first team to successfully defend the European crown in the Champions League era. The squad had won eight matches in a row at home in European competition before settling for a 2-2 draw against Germany’s Borussia Dortmund in their last outing. They’ve lost just once in their past 33 home European matches with 28 wins and four draws. The loss was 4-3 against German club FC Schalke 04 during the round of 16 in 2014/15.
Real beat AS Roma of Italy’s Serie A in the round of 16 last year with 2-0 wins both home and away. It was the first time they’ve beaten an Italian club in a two-legged knockout series after losing eight straight. Overall, Real has 22 wins in 31 home encounters against Italian teams with three draws and six defeats. They have 31 wins, 11 draws and 25 losses in their 67matches against Italian sides with 98 goals for and 85 against.
Napoli – A Closer Look:
Napoli managed to win Group B with three wins, two draws and a loss. They scored 11 goals and conceded eight. Since then they have added Leonardo Pavoletti to their Champions League roster and released Manolo Gabbiadini and Roberto Insigne. Napoli is enjoying a pretty good domestic season, but it’s probably going to be too hard to catch league-leading Juventus. However, they could finish high enough to earn a berth in the 2017/18 Champions League. Napoli has lost just once on their past seven European away contests.
Napoli has never made is as far as the quarterfinals in the Champions League. The first and only time they reached the round of 16 resulted in a 5-4 aggregate loss to Chelsea of the English Premier League in extra time. They won their home leg 3-1 and lost 4-1 in London. Napoli earned seven of a possible nine away points in the group stage this season with two wins and a draw. Their lone away defeat in their past seven European games was 1-0 to Spanish club Villarreal. They have five wins and a draw in the other six outings.
Against Spanish opposition on the road, Napoli has two wins and four losses overall with two draws and two defeats in their past four meetings home and away. Napoli has four wins, four draws and four losses overall against Spanish opponents with 15 goals for and 12 against. Napoli’s only cup final appearance in Europe was the 1989 UEFA Cup which they lost. They have won the Italian Serie A twice.
Real Madrid vs Napoli – Takeaway:
Real Madrid has won the European Cup a record 11 times and as the current holders will be hard to beat even though they struggle against Italian clubs.
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