Napoli vs Barcelona Preview

Current Serie A title holders Napoli will welcome reigning La Liga champions Barcelona to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie.

Both sides stormed to the title in their respective leagues last season but come into this tie a shadow of themselves domestically. Napoli are in worse shape domestically than their Catalan counterparts, with the Serie A holders now trailing league leaders Inter Milan by a whopping 27 points.

The Partenopei sit ninth in the Serie A table and enter this tie amidst a run of just three wins from their last eleven games in all competitions (D3, L5). This poor form and the uncertainty surrounding the future of current manager Walter Mazzarri who is set to be replaced by Slovakia manager Francesco Calzona shortly, has made this fixture unpredictable.

Yet, three wins from their last five home games (D1, L1) should give the fans hope that their side can bounce back here as they look to progress past the knockout round for just the second time. However, the fact they’ve won just two of their last 16 meetings with Spanish opposition (D5, L9) suggests that more suffering could await the home fans here.

Meanwhile, after sealing the La Liga title last season, Barca trail Real Madrid by eight points at this stage of the season, leaving their title defence in tatters. They will arrive in Naples on a run of four games without defeat (W3, D1), so morale will be high as they face Napoli for the third time in five seasons.

Xavi’s men won the previous two head-to-head meetings and will be confident about making it a hat-trick here in Italy but fans could be worried, considering that Barça have won just one of their last ten UCL knockout games on the road (D4, L5).