PSV will play its second UEFA Champions League home game of the season next Tuesday. SSC Napoli will visit the Philips Stadium. Apart from being an important encounter, it will also be the first time former PSV player Noa Lang returns to Eindhoven after his transfer last summer.
PSV has played SSC Napoli at home once before. That was on October 4, 2012, during the group stage of the Europa League. PSV defeated SSC Napoli 3-0 thanks to goals by Jeremain Lens, Dries Mertens, and Marcelo. Away, PSV won 3-0 on December 6 thanks to a hat trick by Tim Matavž.
Injured list Napoli
The 124-time Belgian international Romelu Lukaku has not been able to play a single game this season because of a hamstring injury. He already missed 23 matches and will also have to miss the UEFA Champions League match against PSV. In addition, defensive midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, who has already played 166 times for Napoli, is injured and not deployable in Eindhoven. It is still unknown whether Scott McTominay and striker Rasmus Højlund will be able to join the team. Both were absent last league game.
Current form Napoli
Napoli lost their first group match in the UEFA Champions League 2-0 to Manchester City, but recorded a narrow 2-1 win over Sporting CP in the second match, with two goals from Rasmus Højlund. In Serie A, Napoli won five of its first seven matches. The other two were lost. Last weekend, for example, things went wrong against Torino: a goal by Noa Lang in injury time was disallowed for offside, causing the Italian national champion to go down 0-1 and is currently in second place.
Return Noa Lang
Former PSV player Noa Lang will soon return to Eindhoven this season after his transfer to Italy last summer. The left winger played 63 games for PSV in two seasons. He scored 19 goals and gave 14 assists. He became national champion twice.
At SSC Napoli, Lang has made few minutes so far. In seven games, four of which he filled in, he featured for a total of only 57 minutes. Nevertheless, his return to the Philips Stadium guarantees a special encounter.