Allegri hints towards McTominay start in Champions League

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Massimiliano Allegri has revealed Scott McTominay could start for Napoli against Villarreal, as they look to kickstart their Champions League campaign.

McTominay missed Napoli’s final four games before the extended international break as he recovered from heart surgery, though he returned off the bench in their Serie A win over Frosinone on Saturday.

During McTominay’s period on the sidelines, Napoli began their Champions League campaign with a 1-0 defeat at home to 2025-26 runners-up Arsenal.

Napoli’s xG in their defeat to Arsenal was just 0.22 – the lowest of any team on MD1 of this season’s Champions League.

They also had just eight touches in the opposition box, with only Bodo/Glimt (seven versus Bayern Munich) having fewer in the first round of games.

And with McTominay possibly primed to start against Villarreal, Allegri has urged his side to get some points on the board in the league phase.

“It’s possible, but I haven’t fully decided the XI yet,” Allegri said when asked if McTominay could start.

Final touches before Villarreal clash https://t.co/2Ue3mMS4D4

— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) October 12, 2026

“Tomorrow morning I’ll try to picture the game, taking the substitutions into account too.

“I have a squad of excellent players. Some are coming back from injury, but it’ll take a bit of time to have them back at 100%, and we’ll need to be lucky with how we manage them so they can recover.

“We have to try to pick up points, because it’s the second Champions League game. Against Villarreal it won’t be easy, because they’re an awkward side and they’re coming off a good game against Real Madrid [a 1-0 loss in LaLiga].”

Villarreal and Napoli have faced each other on six previous occasions, with both sides winning two matches apiece while drawing the other two.

While they are unbeaten against Napoli across four meetings in the Europa League (W2 D2), Villarreal have lost both of their Champions League games against the Italian side (both 2-0 defeats in the 2011-12 group stage).

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