Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has made his prediction for Liverpool’s Champions League encounter with Italian giants Napoli on Wednesday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side travel to the Stadio San Paolo top of their group having secured an unforgettable 3-2 victory over Paris Saint-Germain last time out.
Nicholas believes it will finish 1-1: “Napoli will be aware of Liverpool’s counter-attack,” he wrote for Sky Sports. “We saw at the weekend Liverpool being unable to control the match at Chelsea like they’ve done in previous weeks and that will give Napoli heart and lessons to use.
“Napoli will play with caution. We know how Italian teams play, they will take their time and not force the match. So I reckon a draw and that will be a good result for Liverpool.”
OPINION
1-1 isn’t a bad prediction from Nicholas, as a trip away to Napoli is always a tricky affair. However, the form Liverpool are in you would’ve expected Nicholas to predict they’d win. Carlo Ancelotti’s side will be smarting after being dispatched 3-1 by Juventus on Saturday so they will certainly be up for this game. Klopp’s team are on a tough run of fixtures and this game is no different. It will be interesting to see how much he rotates for this game on the back of two clashes with Chelsea last week. Nicholas’s claim that Napoli will play with caution, perhaps is not quite spot-on. Napoli are an attacking side, that’s the strength of their team. Maybe they’ve been reined in a bit by Ancelotti since he replaced Maurizio Sarri, but they’ll still be going for it with the likes of Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon. Liverpool’s defence will need to be on top form, as will Napoli’s of course, so it should be an excellent match at the San Paolo.
