After seven rounds in the “league stage” (née “group stage”) of the Champions League, only two teams are guaranteed to finish in the top eight and automatically advance to the round of 16: Arsenal and Bayern Munich. That means there are still six spots up for grabs to skip the first knockout round.
Chelsea arrives at this last round in exactly eighth place, tied on 13 points with seven other teams: two with better goal difference (PSG and Newcastle United, who play against each other) and five with worse goal difference (Barcelona, Sporting CP, Manchester City, Atlético de Madrid and Atalanta, all with winnable matchups). So we are guaranteed to advance to the first knockout round, but if we can win in Naples (and hopefully we don’t need to win by more than one), we can go straight to the second.
It’s easier said than done. Last time (and the only time we were here), we were one Ashley Cole punt at the goal line away from losing by three. We only lost 3-1, something that, as we know and still remember fondly, we came back 4-1 in extra time of the second leg and would then be on our way to winning the 2012 Champions League.
This time there is no return match. There is a win and a chance to advance directly to the round of 16 (depending on other results), or any other result, and a place in the first knockout round (the round of 32, so to speak). All matches on this last day of the league phase will be played at the same time.
With reports coming in tonight of Chelsea fans being attacked in the city center by knife-wielding local “ultras” (two of them were sent to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the club confirmed), we’re going to have to pay close attention on and off the pitch.
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 20:00 GMT; 3:00 pm Eastern Time; 1:30 am IST (next day)
Event: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (the San Paolo renamed in honor of the legend himself in 2020)
Referee: Clément Turpin (in the field); Jérôme Brisard (VAR)
Forecast: Possibility of storms, and not just those called Antonio Conte.
On television: TNT Sports 4 (UK); none (US); none (India); SuperSport Fútbol Plus (NGA); elsewhere
Transmission: discovery+ (UK); Paramount+ (US); SonyLIV (India); DStv now
Naples team news: Conte led Napoli to the league title last year, their fourth and fifth (in Italy), becoming the first coach to win the Scudetto with three different teams. The second, as is often the case, has not been as surprising as the first, with the Partenopei nine points behind league leaders Inter and just hanging on to fourth place in Serie A. They have just one win in their last six games in all competitions and lost 3-0 to Juventus over the weekend. They need a result here just to avoid elimination.
That said, they haven’t lost at home all season, in any competition, and have already won a trophy by winning the Italian Super Cup in early December.
Injuries have been a big problem for them this year, and Conte compared their situation to that of a swaying ship caught in a storm. He may not be Christopher Nolan, but he sure loves painting moving images.
“What I told the boys is that no one gets off the boat. The ship is at sea in the middle of a storm, but no one gets off. We all have to know how to handle this moment well, which has been going on for a while. The storm is not over, and it won’t be soon, so let’s all prepare, and what we must do is not lose confidence, not lose confidence in ourselves, not lose enthusiasm. The same things that have differentiated us until now, because until now, extraordinary things have been done, while “We deal with very serious situations.”
-Antonio Conte; source: Football-Italy
Among those missing from said boat are former Chelsea duo Billy Gilmour and Kevin De Bruyne – although Gilmour may have been seen bobbing in the waves – as well as the likes of Matteo Politano, Amir Rrahmani, Frank Anguissa and David Neres, who underwent ankle surgery the other day. Neres was third on the team in goals and will be greatly missed. First-choice goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić is also out, although his replacement, last year’s starter Alex Meret, is also not far behind.
Our favorite former prodigal son, Romelu Lukaku, has also battled injuries all season, although he has recently returned to form, making his season debut from the bench on Sunday and will likely feature in some capacity. Instead, the line has been led fairly decently by Manchester United (loan) castoff Rasmus Højlund with nine goals, although his biggest goal threat remains his former Red Devil teammate Scott McTominay, who continues to defy expectations with real greatness and has become the city’s favorite son. He has four of Napoli’s seven goals in this competition.
Chelsea Team News: Cole Palmer has traveled and is in line to appear after missing the weekend. Palmer has not been fully fit all season, and even when he has played, he has been clearly below par. And in addition to that nagging groin injury, he’s also been dealing with some other knocks recently. He probably should have had the surgery that was on the table a few months ago, but here we are, trying to manage the injury, with predictably lackluster results.
Roméo Lavia has not traveled, although he has returned to training and is possibly on track to play real minutes in the near future. We’ll believe it when we see it. The previously injured trio of Levi Colwill, Dário Essugo and Tosin Adarabioyo will also not travel. Backup goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen is in the squad after missing the weekend with a minor knock.
Liam Rosenior has won four of his five games in charge, including the last three in a row. He’s trying to do what two of our last three mid-season (non-interim) appointees have accomplished: win the Champions League!
Previously: The last time we played Napoli remains perhaps my favorite non-final game of all time.
