Both Dinamo Moskva and Napoli will be coming into this match after respective disappointments in their domestic leagues. The hosts were on the losing end in a derby match with cross-town rivals Spartak Moscow that surely has somewhat hindered their chances at finishing in one of the two Champions League spots allocated to Russian Premier League teams.
With Zenit and CSKA Moskva enjoying a ten and five point lead respectively, the Dinamiki, who sit in third with 35 points, are still well in contention to feature in the Europa League next season. However, obviously their focus will be finding a way to overturn the heavy 3-1 loss they suffered upon their visit to Napoli's Stadio San Paolo in the first leg.
Prior to the defeat, Stanislav Cherchesov's men had been on a great run in their continental campaign. They had successfully navigated their way through their qualifying rounds with two draws and two wins, and then cruised through their group stages sans a single loss or even draw. After powering past Anderlecht, they were then paired with the Partenopei which effectively snapped a 12-match unbeaten streak.
Still, despite having to do without midfielders Roman Zobnin and Igor Denisov due to suspension and injury respectively, Dinamo Moskva currently are unbeaten at home so far in this season's Europa League, with four wins and two draws, so Dinamiki fans will hope that the Arena Khimki will prove to be a stumbling block for Rafa Benitez's side.
Despite impressing so far the Europa League, with just one loss out of their nine games and outscoring their opponents by eight to one in the knock-out rounds, the Spanish tactician was left fuming after his team threw away three valuable points by losing to Hellas Verona 2-0 over the weekend. In fact, the Partenopei have won just one out of their last five games across all competitions - the Gonzalo Higuain inspired victory over their Russian opponents back on March 13th.
Higuain, who netted his first ever European hat-trick in in an all-action performance has scored four goals in his last three Europa League games and has 22 goals so far in all competitions for his club. Whilst they clearly boast a fairly comfortable advantage, they will certainly be aware of their opponents' strong form at home and that the Russian side do have a vital away goal in hand.
Napoli will definitely want to take note of the scare Monaco, who won their first Champions League leg 3-1 were given by Arsenal as the Gunners valiantly tried to claw their way back by scoring two away goals in the second leg this week. And, as one of five Italian sides in the Europa League, surely, they will like to be the first to book their spot in the final eight.
Will Dinamo Moskva be able to turn things around? Or will Napoli take one step closer to lifting the trophy as Benitez seeks his third Europa League title with a different team in a different league?
It should be an interesting one from start to finish!
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