RB Salzburg vs Napoli Preview: Where to Watch, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
RB Salzburg are set to host Italian opposition Napoli in the second leg of their round of 16 Europa League tie on Thursday.
Napoli convincingly won the first leg of the fixture 3-0, with Arkadiusz Milik, Fabian Ruiz Pena, and Jerome Onguene all getting on the score sheet.
Here is 90min's preview of the round of 16 clash at the Red Bull Arena.
Where to Watch
When Is Kickoff? | Thursday 14 March |
What Time Is Kickoff? | 17:55 (BST) |
Where Is it Played? | Red Bull Arena |
TV Channel/Live Stream | BT Sport Extra 2 |
Referee | Carlos del Cerro Grande |
Team News
Napoli will be without some key players for the second leg. Raul Albiol continues to be sidelined after undergoing knee surgery in early February, while centre-back pairing Kalidou Koulibaly and Nikola Maksimovic will both be out due to suspension.
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Salzburg do not have any recent injury news ahead of the clash with Napoli, but will be without defensive midfielder Xaver Schlager through suspension.
Projected Lineups
RB Salzburg | Stankovic; Ulmer, Onguene, Ramalho, Lainer; Samassekou, Junuzovic, Wolf, Mwepu; Dabour, Takumi. |
Napoli | Meret; Ghoulam, Luperto, Chiriches, Hysaj; Verdi, Zielinski, Diawara, Ounas; Milik, Mertens. |
Head to Head Record
The only match played between the two sides was the first leg of this Europa League matchup just one week ago. Salzburg doesn't have a particularly good record against Italian sides in European competition however, winning four, drawing two, and losing nine in all competitions.
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Napoli have only played three matches against Austrian competition in their long European history, but have won every match by a combined 8-0 on aggregate.
Recent Form
Salzburg have won three of their last five matches in all competitions with losses to Rapid Wien and Napoli being some of the only blotches on an otherwise very efficient season thus far. They currently sit 11 points clear in the Austrian Bundesliga and look primed to continue their good form throughout the rest of the campaign.
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Napoli went undefeated in February but recently lost to Juventus in Serie A to end a six game unbeaten steak. They will be confident going into the second leg of this fixture following a 3-0 win at home the first time these two teams faced off.
Here's how both squads have fared in their last five matches.
RB Salzburg | Napoli |
Salzburg 0-0 SK Sturm Graz (10/03) | Sassuolo 1-1 Napoli (10/03) |
Napoli 3-0 Salzburg (07/03) | Napoli 3-0 Salzburg (07/03) |
Rapid Wien 2-0 Salzburg (24/02) | Napoli 1-2 Juventus (03/03) |
Salzburg 4-0 Club Brugge (21/02) | Parma 0-4 Napoli (24/02) |
Weiner Neustadt 1-2 Salzburg (17/02) | Napoli 3-1 FC Zurich (14/02) |
Prediction
Both sides have been solid in European competition this season and Salzburg will be given a boost due to the suspensions of important players for Napoli.
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Napoli will look to rest some other stars during a busy fixture schedule and heading in with a 3-0 aggregate lead will give them confidence in moving onto the quarter-finals. They may lose the match, but will end up in the next round due to their first-leg win.
Prediction: Salzburg 2-1 Napoli
