Eintracht Frankfurt became the latest European side to run into the Napoli buzzsaw, now facing the prospect of trailling 2-0 on aggregate and hoping for a miracle on the road in Naples as they resume their Champions League Round of 16 matchup.
The German side has scored goals in bunches domestically, but was powerless to create chances against the Italian juggernauts three weeks ago, engineering just five shots and utterly dominated in front of their home fans. Now, the task is even greater as they must figure out some way to do what no one else on the continent has managed this season: to beat Napoli by three goals or more.
In fact, Napoli have only lost by multiple goals once all season, their 2-0 defeat on the road at Anfield to conclude Champions League group stage play in a meaningless match, having already confirmed their place atop the standings.
With a massive lead atop the Serie A standings and the domestic title essentially already secured, there's little chance Napoli could be caught snoozing in European action, so the task is enormous for Frankfurt. It might just be a little too tall an order.
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Napoli vs Eintracht Frankfurt match facts Date: Wednesday, March 15 Kickoff Time: 4 pm ET / 8 pm GMT / 7 am AEDT (Thu, Mar. 16) Location: Stadio Diego Maradona (Naples, Italy) Official: Anthony Taylor First leg: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Napoli (Feb. 21, 2023) Napoli vs Eintracht Frankfurt prediction, odds Moneyline lean: Napoli (-190) Score prediction: Napoli 2-0 Eintracht FrankfurtThere is absolutely no reason, nor any indication, that Napoli will manage to bin their two-goal lead. If they blow this, it will be an upset of epic proportions.
In fact, it's hard to think it will even be remotely close. Given that Napoli lead the Serie A standings by a gargantuan 18-point margin, they will transition to prioritising European matches, and they'll be ready for anything Frankfurt throw their way.
Additionally, Frankfurt striker Randal Kolo Muani is suspended for the match after being sent off in the first leg, so an out-of-form Rafael Borre will have to make up ground in the attack.
BetMGM(USA) Sports
Interaction
(Canada) SkyBet
(UK) Neds
(Australia) Dafabet
(India) Napoli win -190 -235 1/2 1.50 1.52 Draw +350 +354 10/3 4.20 4.60 Frankfurt win +475 +534 5/1 6.40 6.40 Both teams
to score Y / N -120 / -120 -123 / -125 10/11, 4/5 1.83 / 1.91 1.91 / 1.90 Over / Under
2.5 goals -145 / +105 -139 / +105 4/5, 10/11 1.70 / 2.05 1.77 / 2.12 Napoli advance -25000 — 1/200 1.01 — Frankfurt advance +2000 — 25/1 17.00 — Napoli vs Eintracht Frankfurt: best bet Pick: Napoli -1.5 handicap Odds: +125 (BetMGM)
It's hard to see this game being anywhere close, and while Napoli have been known to take their foot off the gas pedal once a lead has been established, they should be able to net twice, especially knowing that Frankfurt will eventually have to come out of their shell to turn this aggregate scoreline around.
With so many contributors on the Napoli squad at the moment, it's hard to pick out any one player to trust up front, especially given the lack of value on anyone of note, so backing the entire team to win comfortably is the better approach.
Napoli vs Eintracht Frankfurt prop bet
Pick: Half with most goals — 1H
Odds: +200 (BetMGM)
With Eintracht Frankfurt knowing they will need the full 90 minutes to find the necessary goals, they should come out firing straight from kickoff. That will benefit Napoli, who can take advantage of the space created to put things to bed.
In fact, that's how Eintracht Frankfurt have profiled all season long. Their 16.05 xGA in the first half puts them ninth-best in the Bundesliga, but they sport the third-best second half xGA in the German top-flight.
While Napoli spread their two first-leg goals evenly, one in each half, they put up over twice the attacking output before the break, even considering that Frankfurt didn't go down a man until the 58th minute.
Once the game is settled, neither side will really make much noise, meaning the second half should calm down considerably.
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