Barcelona vs Napoli Champions League Predictions, Tips and Odds: Battle of Fallen Champions
The last 16 of the 2023/24 Champions League rolls on with Barcelona hosting Napoli on Tuesday. The sides are locked at 1-1 after the first leg.
Barcelona vs Napoli predictions
Barcelona vs Napoli: Predictions |
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| Bet | Prediction | Bookmaker odds |
| BTTS? | No | 27/25 with BetMGM |
| Correct Score | Barcelona 1-0 Napoli | 15/2 with Bet Goodwin |
| First Goalscorer | Robert Lewandowski | 7/2 with 10bet |
The stats behind our Barcelona vs Napoli predictions:
- Barcelona have kept a clean sheet in each of their past three games.
- Barcelona have scored in all seven of their Champions League games so far this season.
- Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring in the first leg, as he has done in four matches since the turn of the year.
A battle of two fallen champions
Usually, when you see the Spanish and Italian champions drawn against each other in the Champions League, you assume you’re in for an incredible battle of the ages between two sides full of star quality and confidence. Well, there are certainly quality players, but neither side has shown it on a regular basis so far this season.
Barcelona barely scraped a 1-0 win against Real Mallorca at the weekend to keep their slim hopes of defending La Liga alive, but they still trail leaders Real Madrid by eight points, and they’re even still a point behind surprise package Girona. To make matters worse, the Blaugrana crashed out of the Copa del Rey and lost the Spanish Super Cup final to Real Madrid — the latter emphatically 4-1 — back in January, meaning the Champions League is now their final hope of a trophy this season. They haven’t won this competition since 2015, of course, and given their current form and status, it’d take a miracle to change that.
But things have been even worse for Napoli, whose Serie A title defence can only be described as a disaster. The Partenopei slumped to a 1-1 draw at home to Torino on Friday, meaning they remain stuck way down in seventh with just 44 points from 28 games; 31 fewer than runaway leaders Inter.
Like Barca, Napoli lost the Super Cup final and went out of the Coppa Italia during the winter period, meaning this is their final shot at silverware. Going away to Camp Nou to keep those dreams alive isn’t an ideal situation, regardless of where Barcelona are at right now.
Barcelona vs Napoli match tip
Barcelona to win @ 3/4 with Sky Bet
This is the third European contest between these two sides since February 2020. On the previous two occasions, Barcelona won the second leg — once in the Champions League and once in the Europa League — after drawing 1-1 in the first leg.
Barcelona vs Napoli odds
Barcelona are the firm favourites for this second leg thanks to home advantage and the outcomes of previous European encounters between these two sides. Barcelona have also progressed to the next round on 20 of the 21 previous occasions that they have avoided defeat away from home in the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie.
Barcelona vs Napoli team news
Barcelona team news |
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| In | Out | Doubtful |
| Ronald Araujo | Alex Balde, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Marcos Alonso, Pedri | Ferran Torres, Raphinha |
Barcelona will hope to welcome back Ferran Torres, but they’ll definitely remain without the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Pedri. Ronald Araujo is also back in the team having missed the win over Real Mallorca at the weekend through suspension.
Top Scorer: Ferran Torres, Joao Felix (3)
Card Magnet: Ferran Torres, Frenkie de Jong, Joao Felix, Ronald Araujo, Sergi Roberto (2)
Assist Ace: Ilkay Gündogan (3)
Napoli team news |
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| In | Out | Doubtful |
| – | Jens-Lys Cajuste, Piotr Zielinski, Leander Dendoncker | Cyril Ngonge |
Cyril Ngonge is closing in on a return and could make the squad, but Jens-Lys Cajuste will remain sidelined until after the international break. Piotr Zielinski isn’t in Napoli’s squad for the knockout stages of the Champions League, nor is Leander Dendoncker.
Top Scorer: Victor Osimhen (2)
Card Magnet: 11 players (1)
Assist Ace: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Natan, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (1)
How to watch Barcelona vs Napoli Live
The second leg of this Champions League last 16 tie between Barcelona and Napoli will be shown live on TNT Sports 2 at 8pm on Tuesday, March 12th.
Barcelona vs Napoli head-to-head
- 21 February 2024 – Napoli 1-1 Barcelona – Champions League
- 24 February 2022 – Napoli 2-4 Barcelona – Europa League
- 17 February 2022 – Barcelona 1-1 Napoli – Europa League
- 8 August 2020 – Barcelona 3-1 Napoli – Champions League
- 25 February 2020 – Napoli 1-1 Barcelona – Champions League
The last two European ties between these two sides have been level at 1-1 after the first leg, with Barcelona going on to win both of them. History may well repeat itself here.
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