The Match
Live Coverage on ITV
Swansea won't have been too disheartened by the loss at the weekened, as the vast majority of the team was rotated and despite the loss the team performed admirably. New head coach Garry Monk has got the team playing with intensity once again, and we've looked a vastly improved outfit since he took charge. There is little doubt though that this game is by far the biggest challenge he's faced since taking charge, and with Liverpool to come on the weekend things aren't getting easier any time soon. Swansea will have to play to the absolute maximum of their abilities, and adhere to the system Monk puts in place absolutely if they are to get anything out of this one.
Napoli have every right to feel hard done by in terms of how they entered the Europa League, having gained 12 points in the Champions League group stages before an inferior head to head record (against Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, who ultimately finished first and second in their group) saw them bow out. To compare that with the Swans, we won twice in six games and finished on eight points, but we progressed from our Europa League group. Napoli have become a real force under Benitez and despite their recent fixture list containing a couple of defeats they really are on top form at the moment - they'll most definitely be confident of a win and they've got every reason to be given how things have panned out for them so far this season.
Prior Form (Most recent at top)
Team News
Provided by resident fitness guru @BenDinnery - make sure to follow him on Twitter for the latest injury news and views
Swansea are still coaxing Michu back to full fitness, while Jonjo Shelvey continues to recover from a hamstring strain. Both are expected to return to the fold imminently, but this match comes just too soon. Otherwise, a completely changed XI at Everton on Sunday means Monk can pick from more or less a fully fit squad.
Napoli were sweating over the availability of Gonzalo Higuain after he picked up a back niggle at the weekend, but he's now expected to recover sufficiently to play some part in the fixture. Pepe Reina is also expected to be available, however Federico Fernandez misses out through suspension, and Giandomenico Mesto & Camilo Zuniga are both out with knee injuries.
Completely guessed lineups
Statistics & Trivia
- Napoli keep one clean sheet every three games in the league, but have only managed one in six European matches so far this season.
- Whereas their league goals are spread evenly throughout games, 60% of Napoli's European goals have come in the last half an hour of matches.
- This will be Swansea's first competitive fixture against an Italian side.
- Napoli are yet to win a match against Premier League opposition (D1 L3) away in the Europa league.
- Napoli have won only two of their previous eight matches at this stage in the Europa League
- They have lost their last three in a row in the round of 32 in the Europa League.
- In all competitions (from eight trips to the UK) Napoli have lost seven and drawn one in their history.
- Swansea are without a win in their last four European fixtures
- Napoli have won just one of their last 11 away Europa League games
- Swansea have conceded exactly one goal in each of their last four European games
Straight from the horse's mouth
Jonathan De Guzman seems particularly up for this one:
"Napoli is a very big game for us, it's a new step for us as a group and for the club. They are doing very well in their season and are a very strong side. It will be a great match to play in. I think it will be a proper European night. I'm looking forward to it, the teams is looking forward to it and it will be a great game to be involved in. We are home first and if we can get a good result at home, hopefully we can get a result out there
"They are very strong up front - I played against one of their players, Dries Mertens, when I was in Holland. He has good quality as does Higuain and [Jose] Callejon, and their midfield is very strong as well.I played against Higuain when I was at Villarreal and he has a real nose for goal.
"It's hard to watch lots of their games - I tend to watch the Spanish league, but I saw that in the Coppa Italia they lost the first leg to Roma and then came back very strong at home, and they have been showing that week in, week out. Given their home performances we need to come away with a result when we are at home. We are confident of that."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26245893?
Rafa Benitez is expecting it to be a battle of ball retention:
"We expect a tough game because it will be very important to keep the ball. We will be thinking about how to give the maximum in the Europa League, seeking the highest possible goals for the club."
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/match/126460/napoli-vs-swansea-city/preview
Analysis
What an occasion eh? Napoli are third in Serie A, and with Gonzalo Higuain smoothing the transition needed after Edison Cavani departed for Paris Saint-Germain they've started to look a really slick unit under Benitez. It's the same Benitez system he's operated with at all the club's he's managed, but what sets him apart from other "system based" managers is his ability to analyse an opponent and target the weaknesses. That's where we may have an edge.
With Garry Monk so green around the gills, how do you plan against that? You've got a derby game where all logic, form and anything else rational went out the window, a midweek game at Stoke in hurricane conditions and an FA Cup game where the entire team was rotated. It's easy to imagine Benitez had one look at that conundrum and thought "I'll just plan for a generic Swansea team" given how long Monk has been at the club, and the likelihood that Monk will once again operate with a standard Swansea 4-2-3-1 system.
That's where he could get into trouble - we beat Benitez's Chelsea side over two legs in the Capital One Cup last year before the pressing aspect of our game had completely disappeared, and with Monk having already shown that he can motivate the squad into hunting down the ball high up the field there's reason to be confident. We've shown on our day we can beat any Premier League side (apart from Everton), so why should we fear Napoli - because they're foreign? Give over. We can win this match and Garry Monk knows it.
Hopefully Canas is retained alongside a returning Leon in the centre of the park, and De Guzman can then play ahead of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see Monk picking three wingers to interchange behind Wilfried Bony. Bony loves the Europa League too, so expect him to be looking to get on the scoresheet - he managed to plunder a fair few early this season when he was clearly unfit so god knows what he'll get up to now that he's up to speed.
In defence we'll have a standard Swansea back four of Davies, Williams, Chico & Rangel, and I've just realised that means the left half is Welsh, the right Spanish. Split down the middle nice and even, although I suppose Rangel must count as half Welsh by now, given his accent. As for how they'll fare against Napoli, I think Ash will look to smash into Higuain early on (legally of course...) as he's reported to have had a back niggle he picked up in the weekend's win over Sassuolo, so we'll see what he's made of come five past eight.
As for Chico, he's probably looking forward to this one. Having been booed by West Ham and Stoke fans he responded superbly, putting in a classy performance against the Potters and scoring the Swans equaliser. He'll no doubt receive a better reception from the Napoli fans, who will probably view him as some kind of style icon as opposed to a flailing catastrophe. Hopefully we'll see more of the Chico we saw at Stoke, and less of the flailing.
I'm as confident about this match as I am about most matches to be honest. We know we can beat anyone on our day (ok, maybe not anyone), and if we show the same intensity and desire we did for ninety minutes against Cardiff & Stoke, and for 65 minutes against Everton, we'll be in with a good chance. Keeping a clean sheet is crucial, but with the wealth of talent available to Benitez I think that's a tall order. I think a few goals will be needed to win this one over two legs, and combined with the high-tempo football we've reverted to under Monk we could be in for a classic. Super Garry Monk!