Napoli are the current champions of Italy.
Their current squad list glitters with star names like Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and reigning Serie A Player of the Season Scott McTominay, who placed 18th in the 2025 Ballon d’Or vote.
However, Napoli will be eliminated from the Champions League if they lose at home to Chelsea next week. A draw could also knock Napoli out, depending on results elsewhere.
Napoli at risk of becoming the biggest victims of the new Champions League format
Since UEFA introduced its new league phase format, the prospect of an elite team failing to reach the knockout stage has seemingly become less likely than ever.
The biggest name eliminated at the end of the league phase last season was RB Leipzig, who departed alongside Dinamo Zagreb, Stuttgart, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bologna, Red Star, Sturm Graz, Sparta Prague, Girona, RB Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys.
This season, the guest list of early exits could be far more distinguished. Villarreal – ranked third in La Liga – are already out, having taken just one point from their first seven Champions League games.
Ajax and Benfica are both in serious danger, sitting 32nd and 29th with one week of fixtures remaining. Meanwhile, 1993 champions Marseille and 2004 finalists Monaco could also fail to go through if they lose their final game of the league phase.
Should Napoli go out at this stage, they would have to be considered the biggest losers of the new Champions League era.
Champions League table
Team
MP
W
D
L
GD
Pts
1. Arsenal
7
7
0
0
18
21
2. Bayern Munich
7
6
0
1
13
18
3. Real Madrid
7
5
0
2
11
15
4. Liverpool
7
5
0
2
6
15
5. Tottenham
7
4
2
1
8
14
6. PSG
7
4
1
2
10
13
7. Newcastle
7
4
1
2
10
13
8. Chelsea
7
4
1
2
6
13
9. Barcelona
7
4
1
2
5
13
10. Sporting
7
4
1
2
5
13
11. Man City
7
4
1
2
4
13
12. Atletico Madrid
7
4
1
2
3
13
13. Atalanta
7
4
1
2
1
13
14. Inter Milan
7
4
0
3
6
12
15. Juventus
7
3
3
1
4
12
16……
