Barcelona take the trip to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona to take on Napoli in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg on Wednesday. Both sides look to remedy their rollercoaster league form with a long European run.
- Napoli vs Barcelona to end in a draw @ 5/2 on William Hill
- Both teams to score @ ½ on Paddy Power
- Over 1.5 goals @ 2/9 on William Hill
These odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.
Date: 21/02/2024
Kick-off time: 20:00
Location: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona
Barcelona have slipped backwards in La Liga but did finish top of Group H with four wins and two losses and will be looking to continue their good form in the knock-out rounds. Napoli, on the other hand, finished second in Group C, but a massive eight points behind group winners Real Madrid.
Napoli currently sit ninth in Serie A after 24 games. The Blues have ten wins, six draws and eight losses, leaving them on 36 points, nine points from the final Champions League spot.
Since it became the Champions League, the furthest Napoli have made it in the competition is the Quarter-finals, back in 2023, where they lost 2 - 1 on aggregate against AC Milan. However, in their history, Napoli have had success in European football, mostly their UEFA Cup win in 1989.
Barcelona, on the other hand, currently sit third in La Liga. In 25 games, Barcelona have 16 wins, three draws and six losses which leaves them on 54 points, seven points from the top of the league Real Madrid.
The Blaugrana have a storied history in European football. Since 1992, Barcelona have made five Finals, winning four against the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Juventus. Along with that, Barcelona have made the Semi-finals on seven occasions.
In the Champions League, Napoli and Barcelona have met just twice in their histories both in the 2019/20 Round of 16. Barcelona have one win and the other game ended in a draw.
Dries Mertens opened the scoring in the 30th minute but Antoine Griezmann equalised early in the second half. Despite the red card to Arturo Vidal, the game ended in a 1 - 1 draw.
The return leg saw all four goals come in the first half. Clement Lenglet, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez all scored in the 3 - 1 win for Barcelona with Lorenzo Insigne on the scoresheet for Napoli.