Wednesday’s sporting highlight is the final round of the Champions League league phase. All 18 matches kick off at the same time.

The effectiveness of the Champions League’s new format is illustrated by the fact that on this so-called super round, there are only a handful of matches with nothing at stake. I welcome this new format big time!

Among the big-name teams, last season’s Serie A champions Napoli arguably have the most on the line. They are in danger of missing out on the knockout stage unless they manage to take points at home against Chelsea, who are aiming to secure a place in the top eight. A draw may not even be enough for Napoli today. This guarantees a full-throttle Napoli–Chelsea encounter.

Napoli’s task tonight is made considerably more difficult by the team’s grim injury situation. Last week, the club’s current first-choice goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić joined an already lengthy injury list. As a result, Alex Meret, who has seen very little playing time this season, will start in goal tonight.

Among outfield players, Kevin De Bruyne, Frank Anguissa, Billy Gilmour, Matteo Politano, David Neres, Amir Rrahmani and Giovane all remain sidelined. Romelu Lukaku, who returned to league action only recently after a long layoff, is also not expected to play today. With a rather fragile squad, Napoli head into what is so far the most important match of their season.

Chelsea have recovered reasonably well from their surprise managerial change, having now won three consecutive matches across all competitions. Their stake in tonight’s game is not as vital as Napoli’s, but a win would secure a bye in the first knockout round. I believe this will interest Chelsea’s new head coach Liam Rosenior, enough that the Londoners will field the strongest possible lineup tonight.

Chelsea will definitely be without Romeo Lavia, Filip Jørgensen, Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Dario Essugo. Cole Palmer’s fitness is uncertain, and unnecessary risks are unlikely to be taken if he is not at 100%.

With an optimal lineup, Napoli would always be favourites against Chelsea given these motivational circumstances, but as things stand their win probability must be reduced significantly. Chelsea are the more likely winner here, especially given that Napoli may have to take huge risks if at a draw close to the final whistle!

Up front, Rasmus Højlund started the season reasonably well, but his last goal in all competitions now dates back eight matches. The inefficiency of Napoli’s first-choice striker is worrying enough that I can’t bring myself to back the team as a betting option, even at the offered odds, which on paper seem huge. Let us try something bigger!

Good luck!

周三的体育重头戏是欧冠联赛的最后一轮。所有18场比赛同时开始。

在这个所谓的超级联赛中，只有少数几场比赛没有任何利害关系，这一事实说明了欧冠新赛制的有效性。我非常欢迎这种新形式！

在大牌球队中，上赛季的意甲冠军那不勒斯可以说是最危险的球队。他们有可能无缘淘汰赛，除非他们能在主场对切尔西的比赛中拿到积分，而切尔西的目标是确保进入八强。对于今天的那不勒斯来说，一场平局可能还不够。这保证了一场全力以赴的那不勒斯-切尔西之战。

由于球队严重的伤病状况，那不勒斯今晚的任务变得相当困难。上周，俱乐部目前的主力门将Vanja Milinković-Savić加入了已经很长的伤病名单。因此，本赛季出场时间很少的梅雷特将在今晚首发。

在外场球员中，凯文·德布鲁因、弗兰克·安圭萨、比利·吉尔摩、马泰奥·波利塔诺、大卫·内雷斯、阿米尔·拉赫马尼和乔万尼都将缺席比赛。罗梅卢·卢卡库，在长时间的休学后，最近才回到联赛，今天也不会上场。带着相当脆弱的阵容，那不勒斯将迎来本赛季迄今为止最重要的比赛。

切尔西已经从意外的主帅变动中恢复得相当不错，目前已经在各项赛事中取得了三连胜。他们在今晚的比赛中的利害关系没有那不勒斯那么重要，但一场胜利将确保在第一轮淘汰赛中晋级。我相信这将引起切尔西新主教练利亚姆·罗西尔的兴趣，足以让伦敦人在今晚派出最强大的阵容。

切尔西肯定会失去罗密欧·拉维亚、菲利普·约根森、列维·科尔维尔、托辛·阿达拉比约和达里奥·埃苏戈。科尔·帕尔默的健康状况还不确定，如果他没有100%恢复，就不太可能冒不必要的风险。

有了最佳阵容，那不勒斯将永远是对阵切尔西的大热门，但就目前情况来看，他们获胜的可能性必须大大降低。切尔西是最有可能的赢家，特别是考虑到那不勒斯可能要冒巨大的风险，如果平局接近终场哨响！

在锋线上，拉斯穆斯·赫隆德本赛季开局不错，但他在各项赛事中的最后一个进球要追溯到8场比赛。那不勒斯第一前锋的低效率令人担忧，以至于我无法把自己作为一个选择来支持这支球队，即使是在开出的赔率上，这在纸面上看起来是巨大的。让我们试试更大的东西吧！

好运！