Preview: Ajax vs. Napoli - prediction, team news, lineups

Ajax have had a promising start to the campaign so far, defeating Scottish side Rangers followed by a narrow defeat away to English giants Liverpool at Anfield.

On the other hand, visitors Napoli have disposed of Liverpool with a comfortable victory before easing past Rangers at Ibrox to gain maximum points.

Match preview

In his first season as Ajax manager, Alfred Schreuder has enjoyed a positive start to proceedings on both domestic and European fronts.

Eight games into the 2022-23 Eredivisie season, Ajax lie second in the table and have lost just one game, while in the Champions League, they have also made a solid start in a relatively competitive group.

On matchday one, goals from Edson Alvarez, Steven Berghuis, Mohammed Kudus and Steven Bergwijn gave the reigning Dutch champions a convincing win over Rangers in a blistering offensive performance.

Next up was a visit to Anfield on matchday two to face Liverpool, where despite equalising through a Mohammed Kudus stunner to make it 1-1, de Godenzonen suffered an unfortunate defeat courtesy of goals from Mohamed Salah and a late Joel Matip winner.

Nevertheless, Ajax find themselves in an encouraging position as the group reaches its midway point.

They are the joint-third highest scorers in the competition with five goals, whilst Kudus and Berghuis have been particularly threatening in the final third with two goals and two assists, respectively.

Schreuder's men have translated this offensive prowess into domestic competition, scoring 23 goals in the Eredivisie, which is the second-best conversion record in the Dutch top flight.

The four-time Champions League winners will be hoping to achieve qualification to the knockout rounds of the tournament, something they managed last campaign before crashing out to Benfica in the round of 16 under Erik ten Hag.

Success in reaching the latter stages of Europe's premier competition has become more difficult in the last two decades for Ajax, though they did brilliantly defy the odds in 2018-19 to reach the last four.

Going into a must-win clash against a dangerous Napoli side, they will be hoping to navigate a positive outcome to give them a major boost in their pursuit of Champions League knockout football.

Napoli have made a terrific start to life in 2022-23 and currently sit top of both Serie A and Champions League Group A under Luciano Spalletti. Impressively, they are unbeaten in all competitions this season and are presently one of the best attacking sides on the continent.

Across the entire Champions League group stage campaign, Napoli have scored seven goals from their two matches which is the most out of any team participating in the tournament.

Domestically, they have the best offensive record in the Italian top flight, where they have netted 18 goals in eight matches while they have also been tight at the other end, conceding just six times.

Spalletti masterminded an eye-catching display on matchday one of the Champions League against 2021-22 finalists Liverpool at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, where a double from Piotr Zielinski alongside goals from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone gave the hosts a thumping victory despite a Luis Diaz reply to reduce the arrears.

In the second round of matches, Napoli continued their ruthless form away to Rangers at Ibrox with a 3-0 win owing to a Matteo Politano spot kick and late strikes from Giacomo Raspadori and Tanguy Ndombele.

Napoli have never been a household name as far as advancing to the latter stages of the Champions League, with their best efforts coming in 2019-20, 2016-17, 2011-12 and 1990-91, where they managed to reach the round of 16 or second round equivalent.

They did win the UEFA Cup in 1988-89, however, defeating German side Stuttgart 5-4 on aggregate over two legs.

Should they defeat Ajax on matchday three, Gli Azzurri will take a massive step towards their aspirations of delving deeper into the competition.

Ajax Champions League form:

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Ajax form (all competitions):

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Napoli Champions League form:

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Napoli form (all competitions):

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Team News

Ajax will be without Ahmetcan Kaplan for the visit of Napoli due to cruciate ligament damage.

At the same time, full-back Jorge Sanchez is expected to be out of contention following knee problems that have prevented him from featuring in the last two fixtures.

Loanee Mohamed Ihattaren is a severe doubt for the clash due to fitness problems, with his prospective timeframe for a return to action currently unknown.

In terms of the visitors, Victor Osimhen may struggle to recover in time for the trip to Amsterdam as he battles against a bicep femoris muscular injury.

Other than that, Gianluca Gaetano is classed as doubtful for the Matchday Three encounter due to coming into contact with a virus.

Both managers will have the vast bulk of their squads available to choose from otherwise in what should be an interesting spectacle at the Amsterdam ArenA.

Ajax possible starting lineup:

Pasveer; Rencsh, Timber, Bassey, Blind; Berghuis, Alvarez, Taylor; Tadic, Kudus, Bergwijn

Napoli possible starting lineup:

Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim, Rui; Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka; Kvaratskhelia, Zielinski, Politano; Simeone

We say: Ajax 1-2 Napoli

In what will be a tightly contested game in Amsterdam, we expect both sides to create plenty of chances and to play an open game that could leave them susceptible to counter-attacks.

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