Porto primed to pounce on injury-ravaged Napoli in Champions League

Porto will look to take advantage of Napoli’s injury crisis as they chase their first Champions League points of the season.

Already without seven players, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Mathias Olivera joined the Napoli absentees following the weekend’s Serie A loss to Juventus.

Rasmus Hojlund, Kevin De Bruyne and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic are all doubtful, meanwhile, leaving boss Massimiliano Allegri potentially without a team’s worth of talent.

This is a big match for both sides, with Napoli also losing their first two continental fixtures this season before defeating Bodø/Glimt last time out.

For Porto, another incentive is to avoid setting an unwanted club record, with the Portuguese side on a four-match losing streak in Europe, equalling their worst run.

Forward Andre Silva played down the significance, saying on uefa.com: “I don’t believe this is a life-or-death game, at least that’s not how we see it.

“There are many points ahead, it’s just one game. It’s a special game like all the others, which we enter with maximum strength, maximum ambition, and feeling the responsibility that comes with the badge we wear on our chests.”

As well as Napoli’s selection troubles, Porto can take confidence from their opponents’ poor recent record on the road in the Champions League, taking just one point from their last seven away fixtures.

Boss Francesco Farioli, who has previously been linked with the Napoli hotseat, said: “Our opponents have quality. They have some players out and doubtful but, regardless of who they field, they have a strong team.

“They have won two titles in recent years. The challenge is big, but we have the desire to do all we can and more.”