Napoli out to make point at Dortmund

A draw at Borussia Dortmund would be enough for SSC Napoli to qualify for the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds for the second time in three seasons although defeat would mean the home team join them on nine points in Group F. 

• On matchday one, the first competitive fixture between the sides, Gonzalo Higuaín's debut goal (29) for Napoli gave the hosts the lead against the 2013 runners-up who then lost Roman Weidenfeller to a red card. An unstoppable free-kick from Lorenzo Insigne (67) made it 2-0 with a Camilo Zúñiga own goal (87) ensuring a tense finale.

• Dortmund followed that by beating Olympique de Marseille and winning at Arsenal FC, only for a 1-0 home defeat against the English club to leave their prospects in the balance.

• Napoli, in only their second UEFA Champions League campaign, lost at Arsenal on matchday two but two wins against Marseille took them on to nine points, level with Arsenal and three ahead of third-placed Dortmund.

Previous meetings
• Before this season, Dortmund had not played an Italian side since the 2008/09 UEFA Cup first round tie with Udinese Calcio in which the away team prevailed 2-0 in both legs, the German club losing 4-3 on penalties. Gökhan Inler scored Udinese's second goal in the first leg.

• Dortmund, who are in their ninth UEFA Champions League campaign, did not beat Italian opponents until their eighth fixture. They have struggled in their last two home games against Serie A visitors, also losing 1-0 to AC Milan in the 2002/03 second group stage.

• In 28 games against Serie A sides Dortmund's record is W9 D4 L15; at home it is W5 D3 L6.

• The win at the Stadio San Paolo on 18 September was Napoli's first in eight fixtures against German opponents – the previous seven had brought five defeats.

• Their overall record is W4 D4 L7; away it is W0 D3 L4.

• One of those away games has a special place in Napoli's history as it gave them their only European trophy, the 1989 UEFA Cup. Diego Maradona's team followed a 2-1 home win over VfB Stuttgart with a 3-3 draw in Germany.

• In that campaign they also beat two other German opponents: 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig, 3-1 on aggregate in the second round, and FC Bayern München, 4-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Match background
• Dortmund's greatest moment came when they beat an Italian team, Juventus, 3-1 in Munich to lift the 1997 UEFA Champions League. Last season was their most successful campaign since then, remaining unbeaten until the semi-final second leg when they lost 2-0 at Real Madrid CF.

• That did not prevent Jürgen Klopp's team, 4-1 winners in the home leg, from advancing to the Wembley final where domestic rivals Bayern beat them 2-1.

• Napoli's second heaviest defeat in Europe came on German soil – a 5-1 loss at SV Werder Bremen in the 1989/90 UEFA Cup third round.

• The Marseille win on matchday three improved Napoli's record on their European travels in recent campaigns. They have now won three and lost eight of their last 14 away games.

• In last season's UEFA Europa League they lost 3-0 at PSV Eindhoven and 3-1 at FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the group before a 2-1 win at AIK. Their hopes ended in the round of 32 when FC Viktoria Plzeň won 3-0 in Naples en route to a 5-0 aggregate triumph.

Team ties
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang started his career in AC Milan's youth system while Sokratis Papastathopoulos was with the Rossoneri in 2010/11, appearing five times in Serie A.

• Papastathopoulos also featured for Genoa CFC between 2008 and 2010 where he was a team-mate of Giandomenico Mesto.

• Nuri Şahin played alongside Higuaín, José María Callejón and Raúl Albiol at Real Madrid in 2011/12. While on loan at Liverpool last season he was a team-mate of Pepe Reina.

• Gonzalo Higuaín took part in all four Real Madrid games against Dortmund last season but did not score. Callejón was a substitute in the 2-2 draw in Madrid while Raúl Albiol was an unused replacement in all four encounters.

• Mats Hummels and Marco Reus scored in Germany's 5-3 defeat by Inler's Switzerland in Basel on 26 May 2012. Marcel Schmelzer, Sven Bender and Gündoğan also played for Germany.

• Henrikh Mkhitaryan was also on target in Armenia's 2-2 draw with Lorenzo Insigne's Italy in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Naples on 15 October.

• Mkhitaryan also scored in Armenia's 3-1 defeat by Christian Maggio's Italy in a World Cup qualifier in Yerevan on 12 October 2012.