Matchday in focus: Napoli 
 | OneFootball

A closer look at SSC Napoli, including past successes, tactics and form this season. 



The opposition

SSC Napoli have returned to the elite in Italian football in recent years. The club is symbolic of the passion in southern Italy: loud, proud and emotional. They enjoyed their greatest successes in the era of Diego Maradona in the late 1980s, when they made history by winning two league titles and by beating VfB Stuttgart in the final of the 1989 UEFA Cup.

After decades of waiting, Gli Azzurri are now back at the very top of the Italian game. They won the Serie A title under Antonio Conte last season, their fourth league crown.

Moreover, Napoli have lifted the Coppa Italia six times, last doing so in 2020. That success has not translated onto the European stage yet though; they have never progressed further than the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, most recently falling short in that round against AC Milan in 2022/23. 

Tactics

Napoli have played almost exclusively in a 4-3-3 formation this season, with a four-man backline forming the foundation across all competitions.

Vanja Milinković-Savić is first-choice goalkeeper, captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo plays at right-back, Sam Beukema and Juan Jesus in the centre, and either Mathías Olivera or Miguel Gutiérrez on the left.

Frank Anguissa and Billy Gilmour usually line up in central midfield, while Scott McTominay provided the drive down the left prior to Kevin De Bruyne’s injury. Against Como last weekend, however, the Scot was back in the middle of the park.

Matteo Politano and David Neres vie for the wide attacking berths, with Rasmus Højlund at centre-forward.

Form

Napoli have had a solid start to the 2025/26 campaign. They were top of the Serie A table after nine games with 21 points, thanks to seven wins and two defeats. Conte’s side were held to a goalless draw by Como on Matchday 10 on Saturday.

Things have not gone quite so well in the Champions League though. Napoli are currently 23rd in the league phase table following one win - a 2-1 triumph over Sporting CP at the start of October - and two losses, including a heavy 6-2 reverse against PSV Eindhoven last time out.

Head-to-head

The teams have met four times to date. The first of those was in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup last 16, with Eintracht winning both legs 1-0.

It was almost three decades until they would lock horns again, this time in the 2022/23 Champions League round of 16. Napoli exacted a measure of revenge, winning 2-0 away and 3-0 at home to comfortably advance to the quarter-finals. 

Facts and figures

The Naples outfit have only lost one of their last 18 home games in the Champions League, winning 11 and drawing six. Furthermore, they are unbeaten in their last five assignments against German clubs, recording four wins and a draw.

Only one of Eintracht’s last 68 games in Europe has ended goalless.