Napoli v. Young Boys: Europa League lineups, match discussion, and bad jokes

With a win today in Bern, Napoli can cross the halfway point in the Europa League group stage with nine points and the group virtually tied up in a bow. That will be nice to have in hand, as it will give Rafa more freedom to use these matches to rotate and experiment during a period when his starters will likely be wearing down a bit as the holidays approach.

Of course, that hasn't stopped Rafa from rotating a fair bit today. Gokhan Inler starts on home soil, but many other regulars have been rested, with each of Gonzalo Higuain, Marek Hamsik, Jose Callejon, and Kalidou Koulibaly on the bench today. Duvan Zapata starts up top, and Jonathan De Guzman and Michu get rare starts behind him, with Dries Mertens filling out that attacking midfield band.

Jorginho rejoins the starting lineup for the first time in weeks, and his calm midfield presence will be most welcome today. Henrique Buss also gets a rare nod in the lineup, starting at center back, with Christian Maggio returned to the lineup on the right side. This seemed like it might be a good time to get Mariano Andujar some minutes on the pitch in goal, but apparently Rafa had other plans, starting Rafael instead.

Young Boys: Mvogo; Sutter, Vilotic, Von Bergen, Lecjaks; Sanogo Junior, Gajic; Steffen, Kubo, Nuzzolo; Hoarau

Napoli: Rafael; Maggio, Henrique, Albiol, Ghoulam; Inler, Jorginho; Mertens, Michu, De Guzman; Zapata

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