In a reunion that evokes memories of his impressive stoppage time in 2018, Alisson will join Liverpool’s top three all-time Europeans if he starts at Napoli.
Alisson could play his 39th European cap for the club and that would represent the third-highest number of any Reds goalkeeper, moving away from Bruce Grobbelaar and Jerzy Dudek (both 38).
But the Brazilian is still a long way from Pepe Reina (84) and Ray Clemence (80), who are also far ahead in terms of clean sheets.
Liverpool’s current No. 1 has kept 16 clean sheets in Europe so far, with Reina registering 38 shutouts and Clemence 39.
Grobbelaar held 18 and Dudek held 17, with Alisson able to draw the Pole if he doesn’t concede tonight.
Alisson averages a clean sheet every 2.38 games, with Reina averaging one every 2.21 and Clemence one every 2.05.
Salah’s drought
Mo Salah has not scored in the last six Champions League games since scoring at Inter Milan in February.
He scored in eight consecutive European away games, but not in the last two at Benfica and Villarreal.
Salah and Roberto Firmino jointly hold the record for most Liverpool goals in a European season: they both scored 11 in the 2017/18 season.
The Egyptian is seven goals behind Steven Gerrard’s club record of 41 in Europe.
Liverpool in Italy
The Reds have won six of 16 meetings in Italy with seven losses and three draws, without scoring on nine occasions.
In those six wins, the Reds have conceded one goal in total.
Two of those victories came in back-to-back matches last season at the same ground, beating AC Milan (2-1) and Inter (2-0) at the San Siro in the round of 16.
They hope to win in Italy for the fourth time in a row for the first time in history.
Liverpool have scored nine goals in the last three visits to Italy, after netting six times in the previous 13 games on Italian soil as an away team.
ghost ground
Liverpool have never won on this ground: they drew once in the Europa League group stage in 2010 and lost twice in the Champions League group stage.
They lost 1-0 in 2018 and 2-0 the following season.
The Reds have not conceded at Napoli in the first 81 minutes of their three games but have conceded three times in total.
fortunes away
In away games, Liverpool won all six games last season, scoring 18 and conceding seven, and in doing so became the first team in Champions League history to achieve the feat.
The Reds last lost away in this competition to Real Madrid in the quarter-final stage in April 2021.
They are looking to win seven European games in a row away from home for the first time in history.
Spalletti’s reunion
Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti was in charge of Zenit St Petersburg as they eliminated Liverpool from the Europa League in the 2013 round of 32.
Alisson and Salah played under the current Napoli manager at Roma in 2016/17.
referee tonight
Carlos Del Cerro Grande (Spain). A 46-year-old from Madrid, he took charge of the 1-1 draw between the teams at Anfield in November 2019.
Liverpool have not won any of the two matches they have refereed, while Napoli have won one of three.
This season’s scorers
Napoli: Kvaratskhelia 4, Kim 2, Osimhen 2, Elmas 1, Lobotka 1, Politano 1, Zielinski 1
Liverpool: Diaz 3, Firmino 3, Salah 3, Alexander-Arnold 2, Carvalho 2, Núñez 2, Elliott 1, Van Dijk 1, own goals 1
*Stats courtesy of LFC statistician Ged Rea (@ged0407).
