Napoli want to win in honour of Maradona, says Conte

Antonio Conte hopes Napoli can beat Qarabag in the Champions League on Tuesday and dedicate the victory to Diego Maradona.

The match takes place on the fifth anniversary of Maradona's death, with Napoli's stadium now named after the Argentinian legend.

Napoli have struggled in the Champions League this season, picking up just four points from as many games.

They have won just one of their last six matches in the competition (D2 L3), while conceding over two goals per game on average across these fixtures (2.2 – 13 in total).

Qarabag, meanwhile, have avoided defeat in three of their four Champions League games this season (W2 D1 L1), after losing four of their six matches in their previous appearance in this tournament (D2 L4 in 2017-18).

They have also already quadrupled their goal tally in 2025-26 (eight) from that 2017-18 appearance (two).

Conte believes Qarabag will provide a stern test in Naples, but aims to carry out victory in honour of Maradona.

"Of course, it's the anniversary of Maradona's passing. We all know what he represents for Naples, and it would certainly be nice if we could dedicate a win to him," said Conte.

"Qarabag can be considered the surprise team of the Champions League. They have seven points, even earned on difficult pitches like Benfica's.

"They drew the last home game against Chelsea, almost winning at the end. They have many foreign players, but well integrated.

"We will need a lot of energy from the start because they will bring plenty of it."

Italian sides are unbeaten against Azerbaijani opponents in European competition, winning six of the eight matches to take place (D2), including each of the last four in a row.

Qarabag are also winless in their six games against Italian sides in Europe to date, suffering defeats in five of those matches (D1). The only two to take place in the Champions League were against Roma in 2017-18, losing at home (1-2) and away (0-1).