Napoli will host Barcelona in the Round of 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday. Both teams, who were once linked by Diego Maradona. They won their respective domestic leagues the previous year. Neither team did well in the group stage or in defending their titles.
Preview (Napoli vs. Barcelona)
Napoli, who were quarterfinalists the previous year, placed second in Group C of the Champions League this year. They are eight points behind Real Madrid, who they lost to both at home and away. However, three victories from their remaining four games—against Union Berlin and Braga—were sufficient to advance them to the knockout stages. Now, the Serie A team will try to defeat Real Madrid’s archrival Barcelona for the first time. They have lost three times in the previous five seasons.
Even with Walter Mazzarri’s return in November, the Partenopei are still far from their best. They could potentially miss out on European qualification altogether. As of this point in the Scudetto-winning 2022–23 campaign, they have 65 points. It is approximately 19 more than Mazzarri’s team had before he was fired on Monday. Two days before his departure, he had overseen his final match as Slovakia’s manager, Francesco Calzona, a former Napoli coach, took over as the team’s third head coach of the year temporarily until June.
It was only Napoli’s third goal in five games, which was barely enough to keep them in ninth place in the standings and highlighted their incompetence without Victor Osimhen, last season’s Capocannoniere. Moreover, Napoli has won 10 of their 16 home Champions League games. Their only loss came against Real Madrid earlier in the season. In reality, in their most recent “Maradona derby,” which took place in the Europa League knockout round of 2021–2022, Barcelona also prevailed 4–2. So, this week, history is on their side. For the first time in three years, Barcelona was back in the Champions League elimination round.
Team News
Victor Osimhen, the top striker for Napoli, is back in action after taking a little break to recuperate after his efforts in Ivory Coast. Osimhen started all seven of Nigeria’s games as they advanced to the recent Africa Cup of Nations final. Giovanni Simeone, a misfiring striker, should be replaced right away by Osimhen, and with Juan Jesus back from his Serie A suspension, Francesco Calzona has a completely loaded roster to select from. After the group stage, Pasquale Mazzocchi, Cyril Ngonge, and Hamed Traore were added to the hosts’ UEFA roster; however, Piotr Zielinski, who is scheduled to depart on a free transfer this summer, has been left off.
In the meantime, injuries have forced Barcelona to play without Ferran Torres, Alejandro Balde, Gavi, Marcos Alonso, and Segi Roberto. Joao Felix is still questionable because of an ankle issue. Vitor Roque, the primary January acquisition for the Blaugrana, may play in his first Champions League match, while fellow youthful talent Lammy Yamal will try to make history by being the first 16-year-old to score in the league. Both might start next to Robert Lewandowski, who leads Barcelona in goals scored this season with 17 and has not scored in his past three league games despite missing four Champions League games.
Napoli 1-2 Barcelona
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