Match preview for Napoli vs Chelsea

Napoli boss Antonio Conte was in combative mood ahead of their reunion with Chelsea tomorrow, hitting out at former Blues striker Diego Costa and Juventus counterpart Luciano Spalletti.

The teams meet in Naples tomorrow with both needing a win for different reasons: Chelsea to finish in the top-eight and Napoli to boost their hopes of moving into the playoff spots and avoiding early elimination.

Reaching the round of 16 was one of Napoli’s stated objectives for this season and Conte wore the look of a man under pressure when addressing the media this morning.

Both Costa and Spalletti came under fire, with the former suggesting Conte was a “bitter man with no gratitude” after they combined to help Chelsea win the 2017 Premier League title. The former Brazil international even said that Conte was always frustrated, “probably because he didn’t have enough sex”.

Conte dismissed Costa’s comments today, saying: “I don’t care what he said. I don’t waste time and energy reading what people say about me. I remember I won the Premier League with him and he asked to leave three times that season. Then I don’t know what he did after Chelsea.”

After Napoli’s 3-0 defeat at Juventus on Sunday, their former coach Spalletti suggested the Bianconeri had beaten Italy’s ‘former’ champions.

Conte bristled at Spalletti’s words. He said: “For me, it’s an unfortunate punishment. It was disrespectful and I wouldn’t have done it myself. Spalletti is a great coach but maybe he should be more careful when he speaks.

“He can’t say we are former champions because there are still 16 games to go.”

Defeat in Turin ended Napoli’s unbeaten run which stretched back to mid-December and Conte has called on the home fans to rally his side round tomorrow night.

“Let’s focus on Chelsea who are the world champions,” he said. “We will do everything possible knowing that we can count on a strong ally (the fans in Diego Maradona’s stadium) and we must not underestimate them.”

Chelsea under the calm leadership of Liam Rosenier got off to an impressive start with a win at Crystal Palace at the weekend, his fourth in five games since he took over.

Their last trip to Italy ended in defeat, however, a 2–1 loss against Atalanta under Enzo Maresca on 9 December.

Team news for Napoli vs Chelsea

Frank Anguisa, David Nares, Kevin De Bruyne, Billy Gilmour, Matteo Politano and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic are all injured for Napoli but former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is fit.

Cole Palmer may be fit enough to make the bench but Romeo Lavia, Filip Jorgensen, Dario Esugo, Levi Colville and Tosin Adarabio are all out.

Predicted line-ups for Napoli vs Chelsea

Napoli: Maret; Beukema, Bird, Juan Jesus; Di Lorenzo, Lobotka, McTominay, Spinazol; Vergara, Hojlund, Elmas

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Chaloba, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, James; Pedro Neto, Fernandez, Estevao; João Pedro

How to watch Napoli vs Chelsea: TV and online streams

Napoli vs Chelsea kicks off tomorrow night at 8pm UK time. It is being shown on TNT Sports in the UK and can be streamed via the Discovery+ app.

To see elsewhere in the world, click here To find your local rights holder.

Stats for Napoli vs Chelsea

• The only previous meetings between Napoli and Chelsea took place in the 2011–12 Champions League, with the Blues beating the Italian side 16–5–4 on aggregate.
• Napoli manager Antonio Conte has won just one of his five games against former club Chelsea
• Napoli have lost just one of their last 20 home Champions League matches (W12 D7).