Napoli vs Union Berlin prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-11-07 17:45.
Current Scudetto holders Napoli are making their presence felt on the European stage once again, sitting in second place in UEFA Champions League (UCL) Group C with two victories (L1). They trail the competition's most successful club Real Madrid by three points, lead Braga by the same margin, and will be aiming to keep their upcoming opponents Union Berlin pointless, having beaten them 1-0 in the last round.
That result extended the Blues’ already impressive UCL group stage history, which now features only three defeats in their last 21 such matches (W12, D6). With such a strong record, the pressure is on manager Rudi Garcia to deliver the club’s fourth consecutive victory with a clean sheet against German opposition, and doing so would certainly help move Napoli to within touching distance of the knockouts, something media in Italy say is a condition of Garcia’s contract.
Getting the better of last season’s quarter-finalists at their home venue is never an easy feat for any visiting club, even more so for an out of sorts Union Berlin who were one of just three teams to lose each of their first three UCL games of this group stage. Things took yet another downward turn at the weekend, as they fell to a club record 12th consecutive competitive loss when going down 3-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Encapsulated in that run is the Iron Ones’ back-to-back defeats by conceding in the 94th minute each time to lose to Real Madrid and Braga in their opening two group games. That leaves manager Urs Fischer with a tough task to instil a winning belief in his side ahead of their first ever trip to Italy, especially since they couldn’t even manage to score in their last five matches.
Players to watch: Giacomo Raspadori is currently on a three-game scoring streak that started when these teams met last month, extending his unbeaten run to nine games across all competitions when scoring in a Napoli shirt (W7, D2). Union may be relying on the experience of Robin Gosens, who is no stranger to Napoli given his time playing in Italy, with only two of his last six trips to Naples ending in defeat (W2, D2).
Hot stat: All six of Group C’s games so far were decided by a one-goal margin, with five of the six won by the away side on the day.