Napoli face Portuguese side Benfica on Thursday night, in an attempt to push through to the group stages of the UEFA Cup after the first leg in Naples ended 3-2 for the Partenopei.

The encounter in Portugal is on a knife edge with away goals being a crucial factor at this point.  Ex Inter player David Suazo opened the scoring, but Vitale and Denis soon made it 2-1 to Napoli. In the second half a Maggio goal and a last minute Luisao goal settled the score at 3-2 to Napoli with a narrow lead going into the second leg. Napoli face tough Portuguese resistance tomorrow night, but Edy Reja’s team will be no push over in their attempt to reach the group stages. German Denis and Marek Hamsik are in fine form at the moment and will want to influence the game with their talent and show Europe that Napoli is back on the International stage in style.

Line-ups
Probable Starting XI: Quim –Pereira, Sidnei, Luisao, Leo – Yebda, Carlos Martins, Katsouranis, DiMaria – Reyes, Nuno Gomes.

Probable Starting XI: Iezzo – Santacroce, Cannavaro, Contini – Maggio, Blasi, Gargano, Hamsik, Vitale – Lavezzi, Zayaleta (or Denis)

Peter Pedroncelli -footballitaliano.org