Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata has warned his team-mates of the threat posed by Napoli as the two clubs prepare to meet in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Santiago Bernabeu is braced for the return of European football after a two-month break, during which time Madrid have been knocked out of the Copa del Rey but retained their place at the top of LaLiga.

During his two-year spell in Serie A with Juventus, Morata faced Napoli on five occasions, failing to score a single goal, and the 24-year-old is expecting a tough game against Maurizio Sarri's team.

He told Corriere Dello Sport: "They play the ball well and their counter-attacks with [Jose] Callejon, [Marek] Hamsik and [Lorenzo] Insigne are very dangerous.

"Then there is [Leonardo] Pavoletti and [Arkadiusz] Milik. They are a great team.

"They don't seem to be fighting for the Serie A title and this could give them even more strength in Europe. We can lose, but we can also beat them - that is the magic of the Champions League.

"The victories I had over Napoli with Juventus were always hard fought, but I am sure that on Wednesday Napoli will fight to the last to win."

Morata claimed his side have put January's defeats to Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey and Sevilla in LaLiga behind them, and are anticipating a winning return to the Champions League.

"In January, we lost two games, but it is better to get knocked out of the Copa del Rey than the Champions League," he said.

"Now we're fine, we are a united team and we would like to win LaLiga because it's been so long since [Madrid] won it, and then the Champions League is always the Champions League.

"We look forward to playing against Napoli."