Porto vs Napoli: two Italian managers go head-to-head at the Estádio do Dragão

FC Porto host Napoli at the Estádio do Dragão on Wednesday, with both sides desperate for points in the Champions League league phase.

Francesco Farioli's Porto have enjoyed a sensational start to their domestic campaign, winning all ten of their Primeira Liga matches and conceding just four goals, scoring 25 in the process.

However, their domestic dominance has yet to translate into European success, with the Portuguese champions sitting on zero points after three defeats against Manchester City, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven.

Meanwhile, Massimiliano Allegri's Napoli have endured a difficult start to their Serie A campaign, winning four, drawing two and losing four of their opening ten matches.

The Italian side sit eighth, nine points behind the league leaders, following Sunday's 2-0 defeat against Juventus.

Napoli have fared slightly better in Europe, collecting three points from their opening three fixtures, including an entertaining 4-3 victory over Bodø/Glimt.

Wednesday's meeting provides an intriguing managerial contest between two Italian coaches with contrasting profiles. 

Farioli is establishing himself as one of Europe's exciting coaching prospects, while Allegri will be keen to demonstrate that his experience can still deliver success at the highest level.

Previous meetings:

Wednesday's encounter will be the first time the two clubs have met in the Champions League, despite having faced each other four times in European competition.

Their previous meetings came in the UEFA Cup in 1974 and the Europa League in 2014.

Porto won the first leg of their 2014 Round of 16 tie 1-0 before securing a 2-2 draw in Naples to progress.

The overall European record favours Napoli, who have won twice, compared to Porto's one victory, with the remaining fixture ending in a draw.

Team news:

Porto will be without William Gomes and Vasco Sousa, who both remain sidelined through injury, while Oskar Pietuszewski faces a late fitness test after picking up a minor thigh problem.

Zaidu is also a doubt after being forced off at half-time in the weekend's fixture with a knee injury, although Martim Fernandes could return after missing the game through illness.

Chris Smalling, Gabriel Mec and Dominik Prpic will all miss out, having been left out of Francesco Farioli's Champions League squad.

As for Napoli, Massimiliano Allegri faces a difficult selection headache with several first-team players unavailable.

Alessandro Buongiorno, David Neres, Costantino Favasuli, Alisson Santos, Leonardo Spinazzola and Benoit Badiashile are all out, while Stanislav Lobotka has joined the injury list after picking up an ankle injury last week.

Vanja Milinković-Savić and Rasmus Højlund also missed the defeat to Juventus, with the former suffering from a knock and the latter being ruled out through illness.

To make matters worse, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Mathías Olivera both picked up muscular injuries in Turin, leaving Allegri with further concerns ahead of Wednesday's trip to Portugal.

Despite suffering a minor ankle sprain, Kevin De Bruyne is expected to feature for Napoli. 

The Belgian is approaching his 86th Champions League appearance and has created ten chances from open play in this season's competition, with only Lamine Yamal managing more.

Predicted line-ups:

Porto predicted XI (4-3-3): Diogo Costa; Alberto Costa, Jan Bednarek, Jakub Kiwior, Zaidu; Victor Froholdt, Pablo Rosario, Gabriel Veiga; Pepê, Samu Aghehowa, Borja Sainz.

Napoli predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Alex Meret; Sam Beukema, Amir Rrahmani, Rafa Marín; Matteo Politano, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Kevin De Bruyne, Mathías Olivera; Scott McTominay, Antonio Vergara; Rasmus Højlund.

Both sides will be desperate to improve their position in the league phase, making Wednesday's encounter an important opportunity to get their European campaigns back on track.