Scott McTominay is expected to start for Napoli when they face Villarreal in the Champions League, a notable shift after he was used for about 30 minutes against Frosinone. Napoli are looking to reset quickly after losing their opening match against Arsenal, and McTominay’s move into the starting eleven would be the clearest sign yet that the team wants more weight from the first minute.
That is why Villarreal Vs Napoli is being searched now: Napoli are back in Champions League action and the lineup is already drawing attention. The expected shape is a 3-5-2, with Kevin De Bruyne and Gilmour in midfield and Di Lorenzo pushed onto the left flank next to McTominay. For a side coming off defeat in its debut, the detail matters because it points to a more direct attempt to control the middle of the pitch and give McTominay a longer run than the one he received last time out.
McTominay’s 30-minute outing against Frosinone gives Napoli a simple logic for the change. A player who has already had a short competitive spell can be brought forward into the opening XI without forcing a leap in workload, and that makes the expected selection easy to explain even before the match begins. In practical terms, it suggests Napoli are trying to build rhythm around a player they did not fully use in the previous game.
Still, the lineup remains probable rather than confirmed, and that is the one fact that keeps the picture from being final. The expected McTominay start could still change before kickoff, even if the shape and the midfield plan point strongly in that direction. What Napoli have already made clear is the next step: they go into Villarreal with a Champions League return that demands a response, and McTominay is the name most closely tied to that response.
