Napoli vs. Barcelona Preview (What To Know Before Betting)

Napoli vs. Barcelona

In the Champions League’s last 16, Napoli and Barcelona are set to collide, with the match taking place at Stadio Maradona on Wednesday evening. Forever connected by Diego Maradona, both clubs secured top positions in their domestic leagues last season.

However, neither team has mounted a strong title defense or showcased impressive performances in the group stage.

Despite finishing as quarter-finalists last year, Napoli secured the position of Group C runners-up in the initial stage of this season’s Champions League, trailing eight points behind Real Madrid, who defeated them in both home and away matches.

Napoli vs. Barcelona

Despite the setbacks against Real Madrid, Napoli managed to progress to the knockout rounds with three wins from their other four fixtures, facing Braga and Union Berlin. Now, they aim to defeat Real Madrid’s old rivals, Barcelona, for the first time, having been unsuccessful in three previous encounters across the last five seasons.

Even with Walter Mazzarri’s return in November, Napoli remains a shadow of its former self and is at risk of missing out on European qualification altogether. At this stage of the Scudetto-winning 2022-23 campaign, they had accumulated 65 points, which is 19 more than Mazzarri’s men have gathered ahead of his recent dismissal on Monday.

What to remember – Napoli vs. Barcelona

Napoli has faced challenges in finding the net, while Barcelona has struggled to maintain clean sheets. With their third manager of the season, the home side appears as disjointed as they were cohesive last year. Consequently, they might find themselves trailing by a goal ahead of the return leg in Catalonia next month.

Betting tip for Napoli vs. Barcelona

Our expert tipster partners anticipate that the home team will get a win in this match.