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Borussia Dortmund's run to the Champions League final last season is still fresh in most minds, and the way they dismantled Real Madrid, still very much a "wow" moment in modern European club football.
However, football is a cruel sport, and the highs of the 2012-13 season will soon be forgotten, if Dortmund fail to pick up a win against Napoli, and with it quite conceivably get knocked out in the group stages.
Dortmund find themselves in a seriously precarious position, staring at the never-wanted abyss of the Europa League sucking them in with every passing minute.
Jurgen Klopp and co. find themselves third in Group F with six points from four matches, and more importantly three behind Arsenal and Napoli.
If Arsenal, who host bottom side Marseille, better Dortmund's result on Tuesday night, then the German giants will bid goodbye to the elite competition in Europe, and stare at the possibility of getting themselves up for the second-tier Europa League - Napoli will also qualify owing to a better head-to-head over Dortmund.
It is a situation that Klopp is refusing to consider at the moment as Dortmund, on a three-match losing streak, capped by the 3-0 defeat to Bundesliga title rivals Bayern Munich on Saturday, look for a win against Napoli, the side that beat them on the opening matchday of the Champions League this season.
"We cannot influence public opinion about our games. We have lost three in a row, but some players had internationals in between and won there, so that should give them a boost," a defiant Klopp said. "We have the feeling we've dropped some points along the way, points we would have liked to have taken, but this will help Napoli only if we play badly tomorrow [Tuesday]. We are highly focused and cannot be knocked off course so easily.
"Some people have said this is the strongest of all the groups. Some have said it is the most exciting one. It will depend on us to keep things exciting. Nobody can be sure of themselves. What is a fact is that if we don't win twice, starting from tomorrow, things will be difficult for us."
Arsenal, Napoli and Dortmund can all possibly end up with 12 points at the end of six matches each, leaving one side to heartbreakingly drop down to the Europa League.
However, Napoli, who are going through their own problems having lost to Parma in the Serie A at the weekend, will hope to put Group F to bed, and happily snoring, by Tuesday.
"We are up against really top-class opponents, who I respect tremendously," Napoli manager Rafa Benitez said. "They have earned this from their great performances in Europe last season. I love such duels. It will be a real gauge of how far we have come.
"Everyone has to be there tomorrow, every position. I expect the midfielders to help out the defence and when we are in possession our defence has to support our attacks. I expect a cohesive team effort.
"We did well in three of our four games so far, right from the kick-off. Only at Arsenal did things not go the way we would have liked. The team is still developing [and] even with a defeat or a draw we would still have the chance to continue in two weeks' time.
"Both teams have injuries and we believe that Dortmund will come out and attack. We will have to focus on finding ways to defend and at the same time hurt them with our attacks."
Team News: Injuries will indeed play a role, with Dortmund missing the bulk of their first-choice back four, a problem which hurt them against Bayern Munich in that jarring 3-0 defeat. Marcel Schmelzer, Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic are all out for Dortmund, along with influential midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.
Lukasz Piszczek though did make his first appearance since May and could start against Napoli at the back, with midfielders Sven Bender or Sebastian Kehl being the other options.
Napoli are not without their own problems with main man Marek Hamsik ruled out of the Dortmund encounter after limping off in the 1-0 defeat to Parma on Saturday. Miguel Britos, though, made his comeback in the weekend game and could feature on Tuesday.
Key men: Borussia Dortmund: Robert Lewandowski was one of the standout players for the Germans last season, and the Polish striker will need to come to the fore against Napoli to keep their last 16 hopes alive.
Napoli: Gonzalo Higuain will be keen to win the contest of two quality strikers, and a couple of goals from the boot of the Argentine could see the Italians sail through to the next round.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled for a 1.15 am IST start on Wednesday morning with no live coverage in India. You can catch the action live online by clicking the link HERE. To live stream the action in North Africa and the Middle East, click HERE. To watch the match in the U.S. via Fox Sports click HERE. To catch all the action via live streaming in the U.K., click HERE.
Expected lineups: Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Grosskreutz, Piszczek, Papastathopoulos, Durm; Bender, Sahin; Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, Reus; Lewandowski.
Napoli: Reina; Maggio, Albiol, Britos, Armero; Behrami, Inler; Callejon, Pandev, Insigne; Higuain.
Prediction: 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund
