Barcelona vs Napoli: Match Preview & Updates

by AnaedoOnline
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This Champions League last 16 tie is finely balanced and we are backing the goals to flow at the Camp Nou when the Italian side visit this weekend

Barcelona head coach, Quique Setien, has named a 22-man squad to face Napoli in today’s Champions League round of 16 second-leg fixture at Camp Nou.

Setien released the list in a post via the club’s official website.

Barcelona played 1-1 draw with the Serie A side in the first-leg in Italy back in February before the COVID-19 break.

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Barcelona squad against Napol: Ter Stegen, N. Semedo, Piqué, I. Rakitic, Suárez, Messi, Neto, Lenglet, Griezmann, Jordi Alba, S. Roberto, F. De Jong, Junior, Iñaki Peña, Riqui Puig, Ansu Fati, R. Araujo, Monchu, Mingueza, Konrad, Reis and Jandro.

Meanwhile, the likes of Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal are missing due to suspension just as Umtiti, and Dembéle are injured, while Martin Braithwaite is not in the squad as he is not eligible for the Champions League.

PES 2020 | Barcelona vs Napoli | 2nd leg UEFA Champions League ...

Barcelona welcome Napoli to Camp Nou as Quique Setien’s men aim to salvage their season by progressing to the Champions League quarter-finals.

In a tumultuous domestic campaign, Setien replaced Ernesto Valverde in January despite Barca sitting top of La Liga table, only for the Catalans to end the season five points behind champions Real Madrid.

Success in Europe looks a long-shot given the current state of the club both on and off the pitch, yet a team with so many talented players can never be completely written off

Napoli, on their part, won the Coppa Italia but finished in a disappointing seventh in Serie A and so head to Catalonia with little to lose and everything to gain.

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The 1-1 score-line from the first leg in Italy means the job is far from done for Barca, yet they remain overwhelming favourites, priced at 9/25 (1.36) with bet365 to qualify for the last eight and at 61/100 (1.61) to win in 90 minutes.

Napoli 1-1 Barcelona: Griezmann earns the edge but Busquets ...

Napoli are unbeaten away from home in the Champions League this term, drawing in Genk and Liverpool while recording a win in Salzburg. Gennaro Gattuso’s men are offered at 17/4 (5.25) with the draw at 16/5 (4.20).

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The hosts have midfield duo Arturo Vidal and Sergio Busquets suspended, and centre-back Samuel Umtiti remains sidelined with a knee injury.

Napoli are without injured defender Kostas Manolas, while Lorenzo Insigne and Nikola Maksimovic are doubts.

It has been more than seven years since Barcelona lost a home Champions League game, yet the danger for the Catalans is that a stalemate could see them eliminated.

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Gattuso’s men claimed a 1-1 draw at Anfield in November while last season their game at Paris Saint-Germain finished 2-2 – a scoreline which would see Napoli progress on Saturday night.

Napoli can generally be relied upon to find the back of the net and the Italians know they must score to stand any chance of staying in the competition.

They have scored in away games against Real Madrid, Manchester City, PSG and Liverpool in recent years, so backing them to do so once more makes sense.

Barca, too, have had no problem finding the back of the net in the Champions League at home, failing to score on only two occasions since May 2013 and in 12 of their last 14 games they have netted at least twice.

Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals is priced at 19/20 (1.95) and looks an excellent option for this weekend’s game.

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The kick-off time for the fixture is at 8 pm.

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