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Napoli eager to end Real Madrid reign

Napoli must overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit if they are to dethrone holders Real Madrid, who are looking to reach the quarter-finals for the seventh year running.

Toni Kroos (right) scored for Madrid in the first leg
Toni Kroos (right) scored for Madrid in the first leg ©AFP/Getty Images

SSC Napoli welcome Real Madrid CF to the Stadio San Paolo for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie needing to retrieve a first-leg deficit.

Beaten 3-1 in Madrid in the first leg – when Lorenzo Insigne's early goal was overturned by Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos and Casemiro – Napoli must achieve something they have rarely managed in UEFA competition: turn round an away defeat.

• Napoli qualified as winners of Group B, while Madrid finished runners-up to Borussia Dortmund in Group F.

• This is a tie which pits two former Madrid players – Napoli's Raúl Albiol and José Callejón – against their old club.

Previous meetings
• Leo Beenhakker's Madrid overcame Napoli 3-1 on aggregate in the sides' only past encounter, in the first round of the 1987/88 European Champion Clubs' Cup.

Madrid won the first leg 2-0 through goals from Míchel (penalty) and Miguel Tendillo, before earning a 1-1 draw at the Stadio San Paolo, where Emilio Butragueño – today a club director – cancelled out Giovanni Francini's opening goal for a Napoli side coached by Ottavio Bianchi and captained by Diego Maradona.

Match background

Napoli
• This is only Napoli's second appearance in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League and they are seeking to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. They lost to Chelsea FC at this stage in 2011/12, letting slip a 3-1 home first-leg win with a 4-1 extra-time defeat in London.

• Napoli's 3-2 loss to Beşiktaş JK in the group stage is their only defeat in their last 20 European home fixtures (W13 D6).

• Napoli have lost their last two two-legged ties against Spanish opposition. They fell 2-1 to Villarreal CF in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32 and 4-2 to Athletic Club in a 2014/15 UEFA Champions League play-off – and both times drew the home leg 1-1.

• Marek Hamšík, who scored the second goal, and Christian Maggio are the only survivors of Napoli's last victory over Liga opponents – 2-0 at Villarreal in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Napoli's overall home record against Spanish visitors is W2 D4 L0.

• Napoli have won only three of the 11 UEFA ties in which they lost the away first leg – although two of those successes came after retrieving a two-goal deficit from the first game. In the 1962/63 European Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round, they were beaten 2-0 at Bangor City FC but won 3-1 at home and came through the replay 2-1; against Juventus in the 1988/89 UEFA Cup quarter-finals they went down 2-0 away but won 3-0 at home.

• Napoli's record in three UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L2:
3-4 v Toulouse FC, 1986/87 UEFA Cup first round
3-5 v FC Spartak Moskva, 1990/91 European Champion Clubs' Cup second round
4-3 v Sporting Clube de Portugal, 1989/90 UEFA Cup first round

Real Madrid
• Unbeaten in the group stage, Madrid are looking to reach the quarter-finals for the seventh successive year – and have their sights set on becoming the first team to retain the trophy in the UEFA Champions League era.

• Madrid have lost just one of their last nine away fixtures in the UEFA Champions League. In this season's group stage they drew at Dortmund (2-2) and Legia Warszawa (3-3) and beat Sporting Clube de Portugal (2-1).

• Although Madrid eliminated AS Roma (2-0 a, 2-0 h) at this stage of the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League, they had previously lost eight consecutive two-legged knockout ties against Italian opposition, including a semi-final against Juventus in 2014/15.

• That victory at Roma was their first success in nine visits to Italy.

• Madrid's overall record away to Italian clubs is W5 D8 L18.

• Madrid have gone through in 44 of 57 European ties after winning the first leg at home, most recently against FC Bayern München in the 2013/14 semi-final (1-0 h, 4-0 a). When winning 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu first time out they have won four of eight ties, most recently against Manchester United FC in the 2002/03 quarter-finals (3-4 away).

• Madrid's shoot-out record in European competition is W2 L2:
5-6 v FK Crvena zvezda, 1974/75 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals
3-1 v Juventus, 1986/87 European Cup second round
1-3 v FC Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semi-finals
5-3 v Club Atlético de Madrid, 2015/16 UEFA Champions League final

Coach and player links
• Zinédine Zidane spent five seasons in Italy with Juventus (1996–2001), winning two Serie A titles. He was unbeaten in six matches against Napoli (W3 D3), scoring in a 1-1 home draw in November 1996 and a 2-1 away victory in November 1997.

• With France, Zidane won the UEFA EURO 2000 final against Italy but lost the 2006 FIFA World Cup final against the Azzurri – a match in which he scored France's goal from the penalty spot but was later sent off.

• A product of Madrid's youth system, Callejón scored 21 goals in 42 league games for their B team, Castilla (2006–08). After three seasons at RCD Espanyol (P3 L3 v Madrid), he returned to the Spanish capital for a two-year stay in the Merengues' first team, scoring eight goals in 55 Liga appearances.

• Albiol made 81 Liga appearances, scoring one goal, for Real Madrid between 2009 and 2013. He had previously played for Getafe CF and Valencia CF (W4 D1 L5 v Madrid). Albiol scored his first top-flight goal in a 2-1 Getafe win against Madrid in March 2005 but was sent off for Valencia in a 5-1 home defeat by Madrid in October 2007.

• Pepe Reina was not on the winning side against Madrid in seven attempts with FC Barcelona and Villarreal (D3 L4) but got the better of them as a Liverpool FC player in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League round of 16, keeping two clean sheets (1-0 a, 4-0 h).

• Mateo Kovačić did not triumph against Napoli in four attempts (D2 L2) during two and a half seasons with FC Internazionale Milano (2013–15).

• Álvaro Morata faced Napoli four times without scoring during two seasons in Italy with Juventus (W3 L1).

• Morata, Sergio Ramos and Lucas Vázquez were in the Spain side beaten 2-0 by an Italy team including Emanuele Giaccherini and substitute Lorenzo Insigne in the last 16 of UEFA EURO 2016.

• Kroos, with a penalty converted in a 6-5 shoot-out success, helped Germany beat Giaccherini and Insigne's Italy in the UEFA EURO 2016 quarter-finals. Insigne and Giaccherini scored their spot kicks.

• In another EURO quarter-final shoot-out, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe's Portugal ousted Arkadiusz Milik's Poland 5-3, Ronaldo and Milik scoring their penalties.

• Insigne was in the Italy team beaten 4-2 by the Spain of Isco and Morata in the final of the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

• Players from the same national team:
Ramos, Dani Carvajal, Nacho, Vázquez, Isco, Morata & Reina, Albiol, Callejón (Spain)
Kovačić, Modrić & Rog, Strinić (Croatia)

Match facts

Napoli
• Kalidou Koulibaly will incur a suspension with his next booking. 

• Eighteen matches unbeaten heading into the first leg, Napoli have lost two of their four games since the 3-1 reverse at the Santiago Bernabéu.

• A 2-0 home defeat by Atalanta BC on 25 February was followed by a 3-1 loss at Juventus three days later in the first instalment of the teams' Coppa Italia semi-final. The return leg is on 5 April.

• Milik played 60 minutes against Juventus – his first start since rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on 8 October.

• The game against Juventus was Lorenzo Insigne's 200th appearance for Napoli.

• Hamšík has scored 110 goals for the Partenopei. He is six behind leader Diego Maradona on the club's all-time top scorers' list.

• With 18 Serie A goals to his name, Dries Mertens is enjoying his most productive campaign in a Napoli shirt. He is three goals shy of equalling his career-best total for a league season, set with PSV Eindhoven in 2011/12.

• Mertens has scored three hat-tricks this term, all of them since mid-December.

• Allan has not played since suffering a thigh injury during the 3-1 win at AC Chievo Verona on 19 February, but was on the bench for Saturday's 2-1 win at AS Roma.

Real Madrid
• Luka Modrić and Ramos are a booking away from a ban. 

• Madrid required two late goals from Ronaldo to salvage a 3-3 draw at home to UD Las Palmas, a match in which Gareth Bale was sent off, on 1 March.

• Zidane's men have scored in a Spanish record 46 successive fixtures in all competitions, bettering Barcelona's run of 44 between 1942 and 1944.

• The 0-0 draw at Manchester City FC in the first leg of their 2016/17 UEFA Champions League semi-final was the last time the Whites failed to score.

• Benzema, Madrid's leading marksman in the UEFA Champions League this season, has scored just three goals in his last 11 outings in all competitions; two of those came in Saturday's 4-1 win at SD Eibar.