An out of form Granada host Serie A’s Napoli on Thursday night in the Europa League last 32 first leg. Manager Diego Martinez will hope his team can overturn a four-match winless streak in which they have drawn three games and lost one.
Gennaro Gattuso’s Napoli ended a three-game winless streak in all competitions last weekend with a victory against Juventus in Serie A. Lorenzo Insigne’s penalty gave the Partenopei the victory.
Napoli topped Europa League Group F with 11 points from 18 possible. Group F was very competitive as Napoli outlasted Real Sociedad and AZ Alkmaar to make the knockout stage.
Granada finished second in Group E, just one point off of PSV Eindhoven. Los Rojiblancos took 11 points from 18 on offer, like Napoli in Group F.
Martinez’s side struggled to score goals in the group with just six tallied. They relied heavily on the defence and conceded just three times to opponents. Napoli also found goals difficult to come by, scoring just seven times in six games while allowing four.
The Granada manager has five names on his injury list going into the fixture. Quini is ruled out due to a hamstring injury while Roberto Soldado will also miss the game. The striker has a knock that will keep him on the sidelines.
Joining the duo is Luis Javier Suarez. He too has a knock that will keep him out until March. Luis Milla and Neyder Lozano could both possibly return to the team in time for first leg fixture.
Gattuso has an incredibly long list of injured players at Napoli. Kalidou Koulibaly and Faouzi Ghoulam are both still recovering from positive tests from COVID-19. Meanwhile, Hirving Lozano, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Elseid Hysaj, and Konstantinos Manolas are all expected to miss the game through injuries.
Diego Demme, Dries Mertens, and David Ospina could all three miss the match through their various injury problems. A decision will be made on the trio closer to game time.
Napoli have posted an 8W-1D-6L record on the road this season. They have outscored opponents 22-16 on their travels.
Granada have a record of 8W-5D-4L at home, outscoring opponents 23-19.
Based on form and performance in the group stage, Granada and Napoli should finish in a score draw in the Europa League last 32 first leg. The score draw will benefit Napoli as they return home for the second leg.
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