Napoli v Chelsea: Champions League tie at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona

Napoli host Chelsea in a Champions League group-stage match at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona; kick-off is 8pm UK time on 28 January 2026. For Chelsea, Reece James looks to be playing at centre‑back, while Napoli have named only five substitutes. Antonio Conte has selected Leonardo Spinazzola on the right flank and Mathías Olivera on the left in a traditional Conte 3-5-2; the coverage says Chelsea look to have matched them man for man.

Cole Palmer is not starting for Chelsea and Romelu Lukaku is on the bench for Napoli; the overnight news from Naples was described as grim and Raheem Sterling was not on the flight. The teams named are Napoli XI: Meret; Buongiorno, Juan Jesus, McTominay, Olivera, Hojlund, Elmas, Di Lorenzo, Vergara, Spinazzola, Lobotka.

Subs: Contini, Spinelli, Gutierrez, Lukaku, Beukema, De Chiara, Garofalo. Chelsea: Sanchez, Gusto, James (C), Fofana, Cucurella, Caicedo, Andrey Santos, Estevao, Fernandez, Neto, Joao Pedro. Subs: Jorgensen, Merrick, Acheampong, Badiashile, Chalobah, Hato, Palmer, Gittens, George, Garnacho, Delap, Guiu.

In the mega table ahead of the final round the positions are given as: 7 Newcastle (7 matches, GD 10, 13 points), 8 Chelsea (7, GD 6, 13), 9 Barcelona (7, GD 5, 13), 24 Olympiacos (7, GD -5, 8), 25 Napoli (7, GD -5, 8) and 26 Copenhagen (7, GD -6, 8).

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