Napoli v Rangers tips: Champions League best bets and preview
Rangers remain pointless in the Champions League as they head to group leaders, and hottest team in Europe, Napoli. Jake Osgathorpe has the best bet.
Football betting tips: Champions League
1pt Piotr Zielinski to score anytime at 11/4 (bet365)
Napoli are the form team in Europe right now. They are unbeaten this season so far, and have won 11 straight games across Serie A and the Champions League.
Don't expect them to take the foot off the gas here against bottom of the group Rangers, with Luciano Spalletti looking to maintain momentum for one, but also to put his side in the box seat to finish top of the group.
As it stands, if Liverpool fail to win in Amsterdam and Napoli beat Rangers here, that would secure top spot, but if Liverpool win, a win for Napoli becomes imperative here.
That is because their final game of the group comes at Anfield, and their chances of finishing first in the group are close to 100% should they match Liverpool's result, due to the 4-1 hammering they dished the Reds on matchday one.
So, a strong Napoli side is expected, and a strong performance too given what we have seen so far.
They have been scintillating through four gameweeks, winning all four and scoring a whopping 17 goals. I Ciucciarelli have averaged an incredible 3.83 xGF per game thus far!
Continuing at that level will almost certainly lead to victory here against a Rangers team who have been man-handled in Group A, losing four games by an aggregate scoreline of 16-1.
They have been hopeless defensively, shipping 2.60 xGA per game, so it's really hard to see anything other than a home win here.
The hosts are understandably short at a general 1/4, but a goalscorer price catches the eye in a game where Napoli are expected to score two or three.
PIOTR ZIELINSKI TO SCORE ANYTIME looks a big price at 11/4.
The Polish midfielder has three goals in the Champions League already this season, averaging a whopping 1.12 xG per 95 minutes - that's not what we expect to see from a midfielder.
Now, that figure is boosted greatly by the fact Zielinski has taken two penalties in the Champions League - which has to be seen as a positive when backing a goalscorer - but even excluding penalties, the Pole is averaging 0.64 xG/95.
His 1.98 non-pen xG has come from just eight shots, meaning his shots have an average xG of 0.25, meaning they are of a high-quality.
Should he play, which seems likely, the price of 11/4 about a penalty taker who has made a habit of getting on the end of good chances looks too big. The same bet is as short as 11/8 in places.
Napoli v Rangers best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Piotr Zielinski to score anytime at 11/4 (bet365)
Score prediction: Napoli 3-0 Rangers (Sky Bet odds: 13/2)
Odds correct at 1650 BST (24/10/22)
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