Napoli vs Villarreal preview - Garrido pays tribute to Napoli

Posted Tuesday, September 27, 2011 by PA

Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido has described Napoli as "the best team in Italy" ahead of their Champions League clash in Naples.

Garrido's side have yet to find their feet this season, losing their Group A opener 2-0 to Bayern Munich while mustering just one win in five Primera Division encounters.

And he is under no illusion as to the size of the task his men face.

"Without a doubt Napoli are the best team in Italy," Garrido said. "They are better than AC Milan and Inter.

"They are aggressive, fast and have very good players, who are hungry to succeed."

Villarreal ousted Napoli from the Europa League last season after a 2-1 aggregate win in the round of 32.

However, Garrido expects a different game on Tuesday.

"Many things have changed since we last faced them," he said. "They are in good form while we are struggling.

"We've had a difficult summer with the sale of (winger Santi) Cazorla (to Malaga) and injuries to our players.

"We have yet to find our rhythm."

The good news for Garrido is that Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi will be available for the encounter.

Rossi sustained a knock on his knee in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao but is expected to start.

The hosts will play their star-studded attacking trio consisting of Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani but have a doubt over right-back Christian Maggio.

Maggio missed Saturday's clash with Fiorentina due to a `muscle problem' and is rated no better than 50/50 to face the Yellow Submarine.

"My aim is to recover for the game against Villarreal," Maggio said. "I don't want to miss Tuesday's game at any cost."

The Azzurri, who held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium in their Group A opener, will fancy their chances with an unbeaten home record in European competition which now stretches back to 1994.

Walter Mazzarri's men go into the encounter on the back of a goalless draw against the Viola. The result lifted Napoli to fourth in Serie A with seven points from their opening four league games.

More than 43,000 tickets have already been sold and the San Paolo is expected to be full for the club's first home game in the Champions League for 20 years.