Europa League: Napoli v Swansea match preview

A look ahead to this week’s Europa League fixture at the Stadio San Paolo

(GETTY IMAGES)

Swansea will travel to the Italian city of Naples this Thursday when they take on Napoli in the second leg of their Round of 32 Europa League tie. After a goalless draw at Liberty Stadium last week, Napoli who have only lost twice in three months, will be hoping to see off a mixed Swansea side who in contrast have only recorded two away wins since mid-November.

Despite facing a team widely expected to dominate, Swansea would have been disappointed to have only emerged from last week’s first leg with a 0-0 draw.  The Welsh side dominated possession with 69%, whilst they also fired eight shots on target compared to Napoli’s one. After undergoing a managerial change earlier this month, Swansea have experienced mixed results, winning just one of their last six games. Despite this, their draw to Napoli and 4-3 loss to Liverpool last weekend showed that they are more than capable of going toe to toe with top teams, something Swansea manager Garry Monk will be hoping to prove again on Thursday night.

KICK-OFF:Thursday, 6.00pm

PAST MEETINGS:

Swansea 0  Napoli 0, Europa League, Round of 32, February 2014

STATS:

Napoli are unbeaten in their eight home European matches against teams from England, Wales and Scotland (W6 D2), excluding qualifiers.

Swansea have won two of their 12 away matches in European competition (D1 L9), excluding qualifiers.

Napoli have conceded 14 goals in their last 15 home European matches (excluding qualifiers), during which time they have kept seven clean sheets.

Swansea have failed to take a lead into half-time in their last 18 matches in all competitions, going on to win four of those games.

ODDS:

Napoli to win: 1.4

Swansea to win: 8.0

Draw: 4.2

TV: Live on ITV 4 at 6.00pm