UEFA Champions League: Napoli vs Barcelona
Preview: Napoli vs Barcelona
Napoli vs Barcelona will happen at the Stadio Maradona, as both clubs, who were champions in their respective leagues last season, have not been able to defend their titles or perform well in the group stage this season.
Napoli, who reached the quarter-finals last year, ended up as the runners-up in Group C during the current Champions League season. They finished eight points behind Real Madrid, who defeated them in both home and away matches. Despite this, the home side managed to secure three wins out of their other four games against Braga and Union Berlin, allowing them to advance to the knockout stage.
The team has faced challenges this season, with Walter Mazzarri returning in November but the team is struggling to perform as well as they did in their successful 2022-23 campaign, which has seen Walter lose his job as Francesco Calzona, who previously coached Napoli, has signed a temporary contract until June, making him the third head coach of the club this season. Napoli’s recent draw against Genoa, with a late goal from Cyril Ngonge, helped them maintain their unbeaten streak at home. Despite their struggles, the home side has only lost one out of their last 16 Champions League home games, winning 10 of them.
Barcelona has returned to the Champions League knockout stage after a three-year absence, topping Group H ahead of Porto with 12 points each. Despite a strong start with a 5-0 win over Antwerp and victories against Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk, Barcelona’s season has been marked by inconsistency.
They are currently behind in the La Liga title race and have been eliminated from the Copa del Rey. Head coach Xavi has announced his departure at the end of the season. Barcelona, who finished third in La Liga last year, have struggled to defend their title but have remained unbeaten in away matches this season.
They have relied on late goals to secure points and have scored in their last 20 matches, although they have struggled to keep clean sheets. Barcelona aims to win their third European title at Wembley Stadium in June, but their away form in the Champions League knockout stages has been poor in recent years, with only one win in ten matches and a lack of goals scored.
Head-to-head
Barca has been the superior team in the history of their matches against Napoli, with a perfect unbeaten record except for one game. In their last six meetings, Barca scored a total of 15 goals against Napoli. When playing at this venue, Barca has a three-game unbeaten streak against Napoli and has scored 9 goals during this period.
Prediction
Napoli has been having difficulty scoring goals, while Barcelona is struggling to keep a clean sheet. With their third manager of the season, Napoli appears disorganized compared to their unity last year, so they might be behind by a goal before the next match in Catalonia next month.
