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On paper, the Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Napoli has every chance of wresting control in a highly-competitive Group C at the end of UEFA Champions League matchday two.
Tomorrow night, they face defending Serie A champions Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with Vinicius Jr fit again after an injury spell. He will be determined to celebrate his comeback with a clinical display.
Real Madrid vs Napoli UEFA Champions League team news
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Real Madrid have been rocked by some major injury problems very early into the 2023/24 season. They saw reliable goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois pick up a freak knee injury in training early into the campaign and he’s likely to be out for the majority of the season.
Eder Militao is also out for the rest of the season due to a knee injury in their clash against Athletic Bilbao. Summer signing Arda Guler is yet to make his debut due to injury issues and is out for this too. David Alaba sustained an injury in the 2-0 win over Las Palmas last week and couldn’t feature for his side’s recent demolition of Girona.
Real Madrid Predicted Lineup vs Napoli
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Dani Carvajal, Nacho, Antonio Rudiger, Fran Garcia, Aurelien Tchouameni, Toni Kroos, Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo
Real Madrid vs Napoli – Our top three
Vinicius Jr – Aiming to rediscover UCL mojo
Vinicius Jr is still adapting to a positional change this season where’s playing more in a forward role. He’s yet to really explode in this campaign and looks to do that against Napoli. The Brazilian had 12 goal contributions in the Champions League last season and loves playing in the competition.
He’ll aim to use his electric pace, impressive dribbling and cold finishing skills to torment the Italian side. Of course, Vini will be marked tightly by Napoli defenders like sturdy Norwegian Leo Ostrid, but will still look to use his unpredictability to rattle their shaky backline.
Jude Bellingham – In-form superstar hungry for more goals
Jude Bellingham can do no wrong for Real Madrid. He’s already scored nine goals this season, including the winner against Union Berlin in his side’s UCL opener. Napoli will look to neutralise Bellingham and mark him out of the game, putting both Stanislav Lobotka and Andre-Frank Anguissa on him. Bellingham should know this and has to be clever with his work.
He knows how to be unpredictable enough to escape markers and get into key positions, which he’ll aim to use alongside his lethal final product to create big chances with his innovative passes and look to score again.
Rodrygo – Wily youngster desperate for momentum boost
Real Madrid forward Rodrygo has struggled to adapt to the new system at Real Madrid, only scoring one goal in nine games. He’s desperate for a goal for a confidence booster and aims to get that against Napoli.
The Italian giants might have young Brazilian defender Natan marking him out of the game, but Rodrygo needs to use his clever running to get past him. More importantly, he’ll look to use his efficient goal-scoring ability and creativity to get among the goals and prove his doubters wrong.
Will David Alaba play against Napoli?
Alaba sustained a groin injury recently and had been initially tipped to have an outside chance of making a return against Napoli. However, Real Madrid have not named him as a part of their travelling squad for the game and do not want to rush him back from injury.
Real Madrid Predicted Lineup vs Napoli – The Final Word
Real Madrid are aware that a trip to Napoli is arguably their biggest challenge of the Champions League group stages. But Los Blancos have made it a habit of rising up to major challenges in Europe over the decades. They’ll be determined to maintain their impressive form by outwitting the Italian champions and go away with a key win that can help them get total control over Group C.
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