Gunners favourites to secure Champions League last 16 spot

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Rafael Benitez is facing his first rumblings of discontent at Napoli where defensive blunders and his habit of tinkering with the team have upset the supporters.

Napoli need to beat Arsenal at home in their Champions League clash on Wednesday to reach the last 16 for the second time in a row and even then they will depend on Borussia Dortmund’s result at Olympique Marseille.

Arsenal need a draw to qualify for the round of 16 for the 14th season running and, having already won away to Borussia Dortmund in Group F, they are unlikely to be intimidated by the San Paolo stadium despite its fearsome reputation.

If Napoli and Dortmund both win, they and Arsenal would all finish on 12 points, leaving the qualifiers to be decided on the results involving the three teams.

This would in turn come down to goal difference, as all three sides would have nine points. Helped by the windfall they obtained from selling Edinson Cavani to Paris St Germain, Napoli were Serie A’s biggest spenders in the close season as they splurged $50.63 million on Gonzalo Higuain alone.

Already, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain reached the knockout phase in the last round of games, joining defending champion Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, and Barcelona.

Among the big clubs, Arsenal will clinch qualification and top spot of Group F with a win or a draw at Napoli while AC Milan needs a draw against Ajax in Group H.

“We have to do better in defence,” said Napoli coach Rafa Benitez. “We have committed individual mistakes that we cannot allow to happen. Everyone expected Napoli to be playing the way we were at the start of the championship and with more points in the bag.

“I’m as unhappy about it as anyone else. Against Arsenal, we have to score two or three goals and play better in defence.”

Benitez’s own selection policy is also in the spotlight. He has fielded 14 different line-ups in Napoli’s 15 Serie A matches so far.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is baffled by the way the group has turned out, with Marseille losing all their matches and the other teams taking points off each other.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen that (12 points is not enough) after 150 Champions League games,” said Wenger. “It’s unbelievable but it’s reality. It’s tricky but we have to finish the job. I will have to play a full-strength team against Napoli. I can’t take any risks.”

“It would be a mistake to think we just don’t have to lose big,” he said. “We have to play in a positive way and try to win the game, anything else will be a gamble.”

The good news for Borussia Dortmund is that a win at Marseille would guarantee progress to the second round because of the side’s superior head-to-head record against both Arsenal and Napoli.

The bad news for coach Juergen Klopp, however, is that his side has been decimated by injuries, with Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender the latest to be likely ruled out of the game at the Stade Velodrome. Both hobbled off with ankle injuries during Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.                     — Agencies