Napoli seek second win at Benfica's expense

SSC Napoli established an early advantage in Group B with a matchday one win – and will be hoping to reinforce their position in a home game against SL Benfica.

Previous meetings
• Benfica prevailed when the sides met in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup first round, a 2-0 home victory enough to send Quique Sánchez Flores's men through after Edoardo Reja's Napoli had won 3-2 in Italy.

• The line-ups at Stadio San Paolo on 18 September 2008 were:
Napoli: Navarro, Maggio, Santacroce, P Cannavaro, Contini, Blasi (Pazienza 46), Gargano, Hamšík (Piá 75), Vitale, Denis (Zalayeta 75), Lavezzi.
Benfica: Quim, Luisão, Léo, Sidnei, Pereira, Yebda, Di María (Gomes 63), Martins (Katsouranis 55) Urreta (Balboa 46), Reyes, Suazo.

• Christian Maggio scored Napoli's third and, although Luisão quickly replied, the hosts held on for a 3-2 triumph.

Match background

Napoli
• Arkadiusz Milik's aerial threat was to the fore on matchday one, his two first-half headers helping Napoli come from behind to beat ten-man FC Dynamo Kyiv 2-1 in Ukraine.

• Napoli drew 2-2 at home to FC Porto in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League round of 16, Duván Zapata's added-time goal preserving the Italian side's unbeaten home record against Portuguese visitors. However it was not enough to keep alive their hopes in the competition after a 1-0 away defeat.

• The Neapolitans' ten games against Portuguese teams have ended W4 D4 L2 (W3 D2 L0 at home).

• That 2013/14 campaign was also Napoli's most recent full tilt at UEFA Champions League glory. Then, they won all three home matches – against Borussia Dortmund, Olympique de Marseille and Arsenal FC. Yet they somehow failed to qualify for the knockout rounds despite collecting 12 points, more than any other side that has missed the qualification cut.

• In 2011/12, Napoli's first UEFA Champions League foray, they proceeded to the round of 16 where they bowed out to Chelsea FC, a 3-1 home win overturned by a 4-1 extra-time loss in London.

Benfica
• The Eagles had one of their own players to blame for their inability to take all three points on matchday one. Talisca, loaned to Beşiktaş JK last month, struck a sensational last-gasp free-kick to earn the Turkish visitors a 1-1 draw in Lisbon.

• A 0-0 draw at Juventus on their last trip to Italy helped the Portuguese team reach the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League final following their 2-1 first-leg victory in Lisbon. However, they lost the final, which was also at the Juventus Stadium, 4-2 on penalties to Sevilla FC after a 0-0 draw.

• Benfica have played 29 games against Italian clubs with the record W9 D5 L15 (W3 D1 L10 in Italy, including the 1965 European Cup final, which they lost to FC Internazionale Milano in Milan). They have twice lost European Cup finals to AC Milan, 2-1 in London in 1963 and 1-0 in Vienna in 1990.

• The Lisbon side won two of their five away matches in last season's competition, 2-1 at both Club Atlético de Madrid on matchday two and FC Zenit in the round of 16. They also drew at FC Astana yet were knocked out by FC Bayern München in the quarter-finals (0-1 away, 2-2 home).

Coach and player links
• Vlad Chiricheș played in the Benfica academy between 2007 and 2009.

• Júlio César spent seven years with Internazionale between 2005 and 2012, helping the Nerazzurri win the UEFA Champions League in 2010. In 2011/12 Maggio and Marek Hamšík scored past César in Napoli's 3-0 success in Serie A.

• In the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup group stage, Júlio César was beaten by Emanuele Giaccherini's goal in Brazil's 4-2 triumph over Italy in Salvador.

• Eliseu represented SS Lazio in 2009/10.

• Milik netted from the spot for Poland but Eliseu's Portugal prevailed 5-3 in the shoot-out in the UEFA EURO 2016 quarter-final at Stade Vélodrome.

• Luisão scored past Pepe Reina in Benfica's 1-0 win over Liverpool FC in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg.

• International team-mates:
Ljubomir Fejsa, Andrija Živković & Nikola Maksimović (Serbia)
Rafael Cabral & Jonas (Brazil)

Match facts

Napoli
• Napoli are ten games undefeated (W8 D2) since a 1-0 loss at AS Roma on 25 April.

• Second-half substitute Milik was on target twice in the 3-1 home victory over Bologna FC on 17 September – he has scored two goals in a match on three occasions since joining from AFC Ajax in August.

• José María Callejón has five goals in six Serie A appearances this term.

• Napoli (W19 D3) have not lost at home in the Italian championship since a 4-2 reverse against Lazio on 31 May 2015. They are on a run of nine consecutive league wins at the Stadio San Paolo.

• Chiricheș has not played since he sustained a knee injury while on international duty earlier this month.

• Kalidou Koulibaly renewed his contract with Napoli until summer 2021 on 19 September.

Benfica
• Benfica are 17 matches unbeaten in all competitions – their last defeat was the 1-0 first-leg loss at Bayern in the 2015/16 quarter-finals.

• The Eagles have won their last 15 away Liga fixtures, a sequence that began on 2 January.

• Rafa Silva has not played since sustaining a thigh injury on his debut at FC Arouca on 9 September.

• Andreas Samaris was ruled out for a month after suffering an ankle injury ahead of the 3-1 victory over SC Braga on 19 September.