90min

Leicester vs Napoli: TV channel, live stream, team news & prediction

By Matt O'Connor-Simpson

The King Power Stadium will be rocking for the game
The King Power Stadium will be rocking for the game / Stephen Pond/Getty Images
facebooktwitterreddit

Leicester City kick off their second successive Europa League campaign on Thursday by hosting Napoli, one of the most glamorous fixtures the club has experienced in years.

The Foxes have made a mixed start to the season, with two wins and two defeats from their opening four Premier League games. They will be hoping to begin their European journey strongly.

Leicester face a tough test against Napoli, though, who have won each of their first three Serie A games, most recently beating Juventus 2-1.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the standout tie from Europa League matchday one...

Where to watch Leicester vs Napoli on TV/live stream

What time is kick-off? Thursday 16 September, 20:00
Where is it being played? King Power Stadium
TV channel/live stream? BT Sport (UK), fuboTV (US), DAZN (Canada)
Referee? Tiago Bruno Lopes Martins
VAR? Alejandro Jose Hernandez

Leicester team news

Ricardo Pereira - Portuguese Soccer Player - Born 1993
Pereira is doubtful / Visionhaus/Getty Images

Long-term absentees James Justin, Wesley Fofana and Jonny Evans remain sidelined, with Jannik Vestergaard and Caglar Soyuncu expected to start at the back.

Ricardo Pereira was forced to pull out of international duty earlier this month and was an unused substitute on Saturday. Whether or not he will be fit enough to feature remains to be seen.

There has been calls for Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka to be afforded playing time, and we could see one or both of them start with James Maddison badly out of form.

Napoli team news

SSC Napoli v Juventus - Serie A
Losing Insigne is a huge blow / MB Media/Getty Images

Napoli were dealt a huge blow when captain Lorenzo Insigne was taken off partway through the Juventus game and he is not expected to be available here.

First-choice keeper Alex Meret is sidelined too, although backup David Ospina did perform well last time out. Stanislav Lobotka and Diego Demme will also be missing.

Leicester vs Napoli predicted lineups

Leicester: Schmeichel; Castagne, Vestergaard, Soyuncu, Bertrand; Albrighton, Tielemans, Ndidi, Barnes; Iheanacho, Vardy

Napoli: Ospina; Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly, Rui; Ruiz, Anguissa, Elmas; Politano, Osimhen, Lozano

Leicester vs Napoli head-to-head record

Unsurprisingly, considering Leicester's only recent ascent to the top table of European football, the two sides have never met previously.

In fact, Thursday night will be the first time the Foxes have ever faced Italian opposition in an competitive game.

In contrast, Napoli are no strangers to travelling to England, facing the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in recent times.

Leicester vs Napoli score prediction

On paper this looks like a real Thursday night treat for the neutral. Both sides have plenty of talent going forward with Spalletti and Brendan Rodgers sharing similar ideas about football.

Although Insigne's injury does remove some of the intrigue, it should still be a cracker with a high-scoring draw seeming the most likely outcome.

Prediction: Leicester 2-2 Napoli

Home/Leicester City