When and where to watch Napoli vs Rangers

Napoli vs Rangers kicks off at 8pm on Wednesday 26 October.

You can catch all the action from Naples exclusively live on BT Sport 4. 

Napoli vs Rangers match preview

Relentless Napoli look to continue their blistering start to the season against Rangers who have lost all four Champions League matches on their return to the competition.

The Serie A leaders are in scintillating form and they have scored a remarkable 17 goals in the group stage so far, including a comfortable 3-0 win at Ibrox in September.

They progressed to the knockout stages with an entertaining win over Ajax and are in pole position to top Group A. They can be overtaken by Liverpool but will all but secure top spot with a home win on Wednesday.

Luciano Spalletti’s side also moved three points clear in Italy on Sunday after Victor Osimhen’s wonderful goal secured a narrow win over Roma and their 11th consecutive win in all competitions.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side were humiliated by a rampant Liverpool on Matchday 4, and they are still searching for their first points in the competition.

Their hopes have turned to trying to finish third and claim a Europa League place, but their task doesn’t get any easier with matches against Napoli and Ajax coming up.

John Lundstram’s late strike spared their blushes at home to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday, but pressure is building on Van Bronckhorst after their latest setback.

Successive home games have ended with the Ibrox crowd jeering and another heavy defeat in Europe, where Rangers have conceded 16 goals and scored only one, would make things even worse for their beleaguered manager.

Can Rangers turn the tide in Europe? Or will Napoli’s remarkable run continue?

Napoli vs Rangers predicted lineups

Napoli (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Kim, Jesus, Rui; Elmas, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Raspadori, Kvaratskhelia

Rangers (4-2-3-1): McGregor; Tavernier, Sands, Davies, Barisic; Davis, Lundstram; Arfield, Tillman, Kent; Colak

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been a revelation at Napoli since his arrival in the summer

Napoli vs Rangers: Injuries and suspensions

Victor Osimhen scored his second successive winner since returning from injury at the weekend and could feature against Rangers.

Centre-back Amir Rrahmani is still sidelined and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa could miss out as he continues his comeback.

Rangers have a long injury list with John Souttar, Ryan Jack, Connor Goldson, Filip Helander Ianis Hagi, Tom Lawrence and Glen Kamara all out.

Antonio Colak and Alfredo Morelos are both in contention to lead the line at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Form (last 6 matches)

Napoli – WWWWW

Rangers – DWWLW

Napoli vs Rangers: Form guide

Rangers have lost all four matches in the Champions League this season and were held by Livingston in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.

They have won three of their last five in all competitions but were thrashed by Liverpool last time out in Europe and are struggling to replicate the form that took them to last season’s Europa League final.

Napoli have won 11 consecutive games in all competitions and are the form team in Europe ahead of the visit of Rangers.

They sit top of Serie A and their Champions League group are one of only three unbeaten teams in Europe’s top five leagues with Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

Antonio Colak could lead the line for Rangers in Naples

Napoli vs Rangers: Last time they met

Rangers fell to a 3-0 defeat to Napoli on a dramatic night in Glasgow on Matchday 2.

Allan McGregor twice denied Piotr Zielinski from the spot, but late goals from Matteo Politano, Giacomo Raspadori and Tanguy Ndombele secured all three points for the Italians.

The defeat came in the wake of defeats to Ajax and Celtic, but Rangers did trouble their visitors until they went down to 10 men when James Sands was sent off for conceding the first penalty.

He said what?!

Giovanni van Bronckhorst on how he felt about the reaction of the supporters after Saturday’s draw with Livingston:

“Same. I’m not happy with the performance, I’m not happy we dropped points at home, so I feel bad.

“I always feel the pressure. I’m responsible for the results. The draw is my responsibility, the line-up, the structure, the subs - it comes down to one man and that’s the manager. That’s the pressure I feel.”

Napoli vs Rangers: Players to watch

Georgian wonderkid Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has played a major role as Napoli have stormed to the top of Serie A and dominated in Europe.

The exciting forward has contributed to five goals in this season’s Champions League campaign and has been a revelation in Naples since his summer arrival from Dinamo Batumi.

Nigerian forward Victor Oshimen is another key player under Luciano Spalletti. He returned to score the winner against Roma at the weekend and extend the club’s seemingly unstoppable winning streak.

Giacomo Raspadori has also impressed this term after the departures of Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne.

For Rangers, top scorer Antonio Colak is likely to lead the line ahead of Alfredo Morelos.

Napoli vs Rangers: Key stats

  • In all European competition, Rangers have won just one of their 12 away matches in Italy (D2 L9), winning 3-2 against Livorno in the UEFA Cup in 2006 with goals from Charlie Adam, Kris Boyd and Nacho Novo.
 
  • This will be the 16th time a British side have faced Napoli away from home in European competition, while only two of the previous 15 have picked up victories (D2 L11). The only team to win there in the UEFA Champions League was Manchester City in November 2017, in a 4-2 victory.
 
  • Napoli have won all four of their matches in the UEFA Champions League this season, and could become the first Italian side to win their opening five games in a single campaign since Juventus in 2004-05. 
 
  • Rangers have conceded 16 goals in the UEFA Champions League this season, losing all four games so far. Indeed, through the first four matchdays, no team has conceded more goals than them (16) or has a higher expected goals against total (10.8). 
 
  • Through the first four matchdays, no goalkeeper faced more shots on target (29) or conceded more goals (12) than Rangers’ Allan McGregor in the UEFA Champions League this season. Indeed, McGregor has only kept four clean sheets in 21 appearances in the competition overall.