Napoli faces a tough task on Thursday as the team travels to Ukraine to take on Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk at Dnipro Stadium in UEFA Europa League play.
The club is coming off of a tough defeat at the hands of PSV Eindhoven and has a chance to make up ground in the group standings. Dnipro is in first place and has earned six points in two league matches played, winning 2-0 against PSV Eindhoven and 3-2 against AIK on Oct. 4.
The match is crucial for both sides due to the fact that Napoli is ranked second in the group behind Dnipro with three points. Napoli has earned those points in two league matches, dominating 4-0 against AIK and falling 3-0 against PSV Eindhoven on Oct. 4.
"The Napoli match is really important for Dnipro in many ways," coach Juande Ramos said to UEFA.com. "Napoli are one of the strongest clubs in Italy and we can measure ourselves against them."
Dnipro has played well of late, although the team is coming off of a 3-2 Premier-Liha loss at FC Zorya Luhansk .
"We made a mistake, making our substitutions far too early," said Ramos of the loss. "We corrected it, but by then it was too late. There are no excuses: I'm responsible."
The club has scored five goals and has only allowed two through two matches and has not lost in Europa League play this season, including in the playoff round. Dnipro has been dominant this season in the Ukrainian Premier League, ranking in second place so far behind FC Shakhtar Donetsk.
Napoli is coming off a loss to Juventus 2-0 in Serie A play and will be a bit shorthanded against Dnipro, with midfielder Marek Hamsik missing out on the match due to a suspension. The team will also be without defenders Christian Maggio and Hugo Campagnaro.
The club started off strong against Juventus, but couldn't put a goal in the net. Napoli had only four shots in the game, including one that made it to the goal. The team was outplayed by Juventus, giving up 14 shots. Napoli was shut out even though they won the time of possession battle. It was Naploi's first league defeat of the season.
Club manager Walter Mazzarr spoke before the match against Dnipro about his future and his contract.
"For the first time in my career my contract is running down. The time is right for me to do that at the moment for various reasons. But I'll give my heart and soul for the side as always,'' said Mazzarr Gazzetta dello Sport, according to ESPNfc.com. "At the end of the season I'll think about what to do depending on how I feel. At the moment I'm focused only on the Dnipro and Chievo games.''
The two teams will face off again on Nov 8 at Stadio San Paolo in Naples.
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