Napoli welcome Barcelona to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Thursday for the second leg of this Europa League knockout round play-off. With the away goals rule no longer in force, there’s nothing between the sides at the midway point of the encounter.
Napoli vs. Barcelona odds
1 – Both teams to score – 7/10
2 – Score draw – 7/2
3 – 1-1 draw – 32/5
4 – 2-2 draw – 14/1
5 – Aubameyang to score first – 23/4
Napoli put in a superb performance for the first hour or so at the Nou Camp in the first leg of this tie. The Serie A side took the lead through Piotr Zielinski and were in the ascendancy for much of the contest. Ferran Torres’ second-half penalty brought Barcelona roaring back, but the Catalan giants spurned a number of late chances as the game ended 1-1.
It’s all to play for in the second leg, which was also the case when these teams met in the Champions League last 16 in 2020. Barca won the return leg of that tie 3-1 at the Nou Camp following a 1-1 draw in Naples, although the two games were separated by almost six months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The difference this time around is that Napoli will have their home support behind them in the second leg. They’ll still start as the slight underdogs in the betting though, while there’s little between the teams in terms of recent form.
Napoli needed a late Victor Osimhen equaliser away to Cagliari on Monday to preserve their seven-match unbeaten run in Serie A. The Azzurri won four of those matches, drawing the other two against Juventus and Inter. The Partenopei also beat league leaders Milan at San Siro last month.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last nine La Liga fixtures, winning five. That includes two four-goal hauls in their victories over defending champions Atletico Madrid and away to Valencia on Sunday. The Blaugrana’s extra day’s rest is mitigated by their trip over the Balearic and Tyrrhenian Seas to Naples.
Even so, we can we can expect the two teams to be at it in this match. Each side will be gunning for the victory, making a both teams to score bet promising. This bet has paid out in all three of the meetings between the clubs over the last couple of years. Meanwhile, this game will go to extra time after 90 minutes if the scores are tied, with the potential for penalties.
A score draw would mirror two of the last three meetings between the sides, with both of those previous two stalemates ending 1-1. It’s tempting to go for more goals though, with a 2-2 draw at the end of 90 minutes also worth a look. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is one to watch for the first goal after opening his Barca account with a hat-trick at the weekend.
How to watch Napoli vs. Barcelona
You can watch Napoli vs. Barcelona live on BT Sport, while it’s possible to use ExpressVPN to watch the game anywhere in the world.
Napoli vs. Barcelona last five matches
Napoli last five matches
Cagliari 1-1 Napoli – February 21, 2022 – Serie A
Barcelona 1-1 Napoli – February 17, 2022 – Europa League
Napoli 1-1 Inter – February 12, 2022 – Serie A
Venezia 0-2 Napoli – February 6, 2022 – Serie A
Napoli 4-1 Salernitana – January 23, 2022 – Serie A
Barcelona last five matches
Valencia 1-4 Barcelona – February 20, 2022 – La Liga
Barcelona 1-1 Napoli – February 17, 2022 – Europa League
Espanyol 2-2 Barcelona – February 13, 2022 – La Liga
Barcelona 4-2 Atletico Madrid – February 6, 2022 – La Liga
Alaves 0-1 Barcelona – January 23, 2022 – La Liga
Napoli top goalscorers
Victor Osimhen – 11
Dries Mertens – 9
Lorenzo Insigne – 7
Piotr Zielinski – 7
Fabian Ruiz – 5
Barcelona top goalscorers
Memphis Depay – 8
Luuk de Jong – 5
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang- 3
Frenkie de Jong – 3
Ronald Araujo – 3
Napoli vs. Barcelona line-ups
Napoli (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Rrahmani, Koulibaly, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui; Fabian Ruiz, Zielinski; Elmas, Petanga, Mertens; Osimhen.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Dest, Pique, Garcia, Alba; Gavi, De Jong, Pedri; Traore, Aubameyang, Torres.
Napoli team news
Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti has a mounting injury list right now. Lorenzo Insigne is the biggest miss for the Partenopei, while Hirving Lozano is another significant loss. Kevin Malcuit, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Axel Tuanzebe, Stanislav Lobotka and Matteo Politano are all out, while Giovanni Di Lorenzo could miss out following his head injury against Cagliari.
Barcelona team news
Visiting boss Xavi also has a number of absentees to contend with. Ansu Fati, Samuel Umtiti and Alex Balde have all been ruled out of this match, while Clement Lenglet and Memphis Depay are both listed as doubtful.