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Champions League football tip: Napoli looking too hot for Frankfurt

Napoli's trip to Frankfurt won't be easy for the Serie A runaway leaders, but Tipstrr football expert Sergiu Baltuta believes they will still have too much quality for the in-form Eintracht side.

Eintracht Frankfurt and Napoli will face off in the first leg of their Champions League clash at Deutsche Bank Park on Tuesday night, their first meeting since a UEFA Cup tie in 1994/1995.
Frankfurt memorably lost their only European Cup final appearance 7-3 to the legendary Real Madrid team of 1960, but this is their first season that they have qualified for the rebranded Champions League since its conception in the early 90s.

Eintracht became the 11th different German team to reach the knockout stages, ending the qualifying phase in second spot behind Tottenham, despite having been bottom of their group after the first four games.

Crucial 2-1 victories against Marseille and Sporting Lisbon came when Oliver Glasner's team were enjoying an excellent run of form, winning seven of the last nine games played before the World Cup break.

Frankfurt have subsequently brought that good form into 2023, suffering only one defeat, a surprising 0-3 loss against Koln. Other than that they won the games when they were favourites both in the Bundesliga and in the Cup and managed draws against Freiburg and Bayern, both top four teams.

They come into this game off a 2-0 win against Werder Bremen, when top scorer Kolo Muani managed to find the back of the net once again. 

The lively French international will pose the main threat for Napoli's defence, and will be full of confidence after bagging five of Frankfurt's nine goals in their last three home games.
Napoli are also in the midst of a superb run of form and since losing their first game after the World Cup 1-0 at Interhave strung seven consecutive Serie A wins together, during which Napoli have scored 19 goals and conceded just twice, and included their spectacular 5-1 demolition of Juventus.

Surprisingly, those league wins were interrupted by Napoli's elimination from the Coppa Italia at the hands of Cremonese after a penalty shootout. 

That setback is only the fifth time that Luciano Spaletti's team has failed to win all season, following draws with Fiorentina and Lecce at the beginning of the campaign and defeats against Liverpool in the Champions League and Inter in that first game of 2023.

At the moment Napoli are seemingly running away with Serie A, and Friday's 2-0 win at Sassuolo leaves them 15 points clear of second placed Inter, with AC Milan a further three points behind.

Out of the Coppa Italia and with the Scudetto almost won, Napoli can focus almost entirely on the Champions League in the second part of the season. 

They are clear favourites against Frankfurt and the football they have been playing this season makes them firm favourites to go deeper into this Champions League competition.

No team scored more than Napoli's 20 goals during the group stage this season in the Champions League(20 goals), while Frankfurt have lost only two of the 19 European games played with Glasner at the helm (10 wins and 7 draws).

These days it is rare for the Serie A league leaders to offer better than even money to win a game, so while they might not have things all their own way against a useful Frankfurt side, they look good value at 11/10 or better to continue their impressive form and take an advantage into the return leg back in Naples on March 15.

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