Wolfsburg v Napoli preview

• Rafael Benítez says this Napoli side are the best he has coached
• The Spaniard celebrates his 55th birthday on the day of the first leg
• Dieter Hecking is seeking the win that will earn free cappuccinos for the rest of 2015
• The hosts, second in the Bundesliga, are seven matches unbeaten
• Wolfsburg are the least experienced club left: this is their 61st game in UEFA competition

Possible lineups
Wolfsburg: Benaglio; Vierinha, Naldo, Knoche, Rodríguez; Guilavogui, Gustavo, Perišić, De Bruyne, Caligiuri, Dost.
• Out: Hunt (ligaments)

Napoli: Andújar; Strinić, Albiol, Koulibaly, Maggio; Inler, Gargano; Mertens, Hamšík, Callejón; Higuaín.
• Out: Zúñiga (knee), Michu (ankle)

Dieter Hecking, Wolfsburg coach
For a week now I have not had a cup of cappuccino from one of the two Italian cafes in my village. They are true Napoli fans. But if we win then I will get my coffee free for the rest of the year. If not, I will have to pay an extra Euro for every cup.

I can't see any weak points in Napoli's play. The tie against Internazionale Milano was already very tough and in Napoli we will be up against a team clearly higher in Serie A. I expect Napoli will be even tougher than Inter. We have to play our own game and Napoli should be forced to react to us – not the other way around.

We got the most attractive but also the toughest quarter-final draw. We will play this match like we did our last few matches: enjoying it, having fun, playing without pressure, and not thinking about the result. Obviously we want to bring this great season to a big climax by winning a trophy, but that is still a long way off.

Rafael Benítez, Napoli coach
The plan is always the same – it doesn't matter what has happened before, it is the next match that counts. We have to be at our best to get a good result and we know the difficult task that awaits. Wolfsburg have a physically strong team so we have to look at ourselves, show our quality on the pitch.

Napoli made a timely return to form on Sunday©Getty Images

Many of Wolfsburg's players could easily slot into our team. They have a lot of quality and that's why we will show them as much respect as they deserve. It'll be a tough task to control all these good players for 90 minutes.

Looking at the character, this is perhaps the best team I've ever had. They are excellent professionals. My team are ready for this and hopefully we'll have the killer instinct which is missing sometimes.

Weekend results
Hamburger SV 0-2 Wolfsburg (Guilavogui 10, Caligiuri 73)
Napoli 3-0 ACF Fiorentina (Mertens 23, Hamšík 71, Callejón 89)

Form guide (all competitions, most recent first)
Wolfsburg: WWWDWW
Napoli: WLLDDL

Expert predictions
Philip Röber: Given the attacking intent displayed by these two, we could be looking at an exciting end-to-end affair. Both sides boast an average 16.8 shots a game – the highest of the quarter-finalists – and Wolfsburg have come out all guns blazing in the past two rounds, seemingly unfazed by the potential dangers. Napoli must be prepared to stand up to their intensity and attacking flair, otherwise they could find themselves trailing by more than one goal going into the return fixture in Italy.

Paolo Menicucci: The draw has paired two clubs with the capacity to go all the way in this competition, and I expect plenty of goals as both teams are better in attack than in defence. While Napoli are favourites at home with the support of their passionate fans, for me these two have an equal chance of making the semis.

Match fact
• Napoli are one of three former UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League winners left in the competition – who are the other two? Find out more in our extensive match background.