Napoli vs Arsenal 19/04/19

19 April 2019

After a 2-0 loss at the Emirates Stadium, Napoli host Arsenal to the Stadio Olimpico for the second leg of their Europa League quarter-finals tie.

The hosts go into this encounter off the back of a 3-1 road victory over Chievo Verona in Serie A, which has brought their three-game winless streak across all competitions to an end (D1, L2). Having won two of three of their home games in the Champions League group stage, Gli Azzurri have maintained an impressive home form in the Europa League, securing two wins in the knockout stage of Europe’s second-tier competition. Interestingly, three of Napoli’s four European home triumphs have seen them beating their rivals to nil, with Carlo Ancelotti’s players netting 2+ match goals on three occasions too. Outstandingly, the Partenopei have suffered just one defeat in 22 home outings across all competitions this term (W16, D5, L1) having scored over 1.5 goals in 13 of their wins along the way.

On the other hand, the visitors have outplayed Watford in the Premier League in the build-up to this meeting, which was their sixth win in their last seven games across all competitions. Atypically for them, the Gunners have outmaneuvered their rivals without conceding a goal five times in their previous six competitive victories. However, Arsenal’s defensive frailties, especially when playing away from home give Unai Emery a sizeable headache, considering the North Londoners conceded at least one goal in eight successive away fixtures before beating Watford 1-0. What’s more, the Premier League heavyweights have lost both of their EL road fixtures in the knockout stage (1-0 to BATE Borisov and 3-1 to Rennes), which only confirms that Arsenal have problems on the road this season.