Napoli face a stiff test in the UEFA Cup on Thursday with an opening first round match at home against the talented Portuguese team, Benfica.

The Portuguese side have drawn both of their Liga matches thus far, and will be keen to get back on the winning trail. The Partenopei are doing well in the league so far this term, beating Fiorentina on the weekend and getting a point from Italian champions Inter Milan in the first round of matches. The Azzurri have one of the most impressive young teams in the Italian top-flight, boasting the talents of players like Marek Hamsik, Christian Maggio, Denis and Ezequiel Lavezzi. Napoli will be hoping to get a good result to give the team confidence going into the second leg in October.

Peter Pedroncelli - footballitaliano.org

Udinese have had arguably the toughest draw in comparison with the other Italian teams in the competition, having drawn German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund.

The former Champions League winning Bavarians will be at home for the first leg, and will certainly take the game to the Bianconeri. Udinese have shown good form in Serie A so far in this beginning of the season, with striker Antonio Di Natale particularly in good form scoring braces for the Bianconeri and Italy in the past few weeks. He will be hoping to get on the score sheet again tonight. This match will certainly go down to a fiery two leg affair, so the Zebrette will want to come home with something to say for themselves in this first leg.

Peter Pedroncelli - footballitaliano.org

Tuesday, 16 September 2008
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