BARCELONA host Napoli in the Round of 16 second leg of the Champions League on Tuesday with the tie very much in the balance.
The sides fought out a 1-1 draw the other week and the Italian champions fought back at their home after the La Liga giants had opened the scoring.
Neither side are where they want to be domestically, with Barca looking unlikely to catch eternal rivals and La Liga leaders Real Madrid. Even Girona currently sit above them in second place.
They warmed up for this tie having edged out Mallorca at home on Friday night so have had plenty of time to prepare for this. They are unbeaten in eight games across all competitions, but too many draws have proved to be a problem this season as recent stalemates against Granada and Athletic Bilbao have shown.
Italian champions Napoli won't repeat their historic triumph last season and face a struggle to get a European place, never mind anything else, as they languish in seventh spot at the time of writing – a huge 31 points behind leaders Inter Milan.
They too have a tendency to draw games – as they did when they also played on Friday night at home to Torino. They have drawn four of their last six games.
How the bookies view it
Barcelona are odds-on favourites across the board but only just. They can be backed at 10/11 with Coral.
Napoli are 16/5 witb bet 365 and the draw is 14/5 with William Hill.
Recent head to heads
As stated, the sides fought out a 1-1 draw in Italy in the first leg with Napoli cancelling out Barca's opener.
Napoli have never beaten Barcelona in five attempts.
Players to watch
Robert Lewandowski netted the opening goal in the first leg and although the Polish legend is now 35, he has still managed 21 goals this season for club and country. He is 11/8 to score with bet365.
Georgian genius Khvicha Kvaratskhelia netted at the weekend for his 15th goal of the season. In fact, he's scored four goals in his last three games and is 10/3 with Paddy Power to score in Catalonia.
Anything else catch the eye?
Barcelona should be too strong here. They should have won the first leg having won the shots count 11-4 and look a decent-enough price to finish the job against a deflated Napoli side who are a shadow of the all-conquering side of last season.
There should be goals here – Napoli have scored in their last six games and Barca have only failed to score in three of their 40 games so far this season.
Back over 2.5 goals at 10/13 with UniBet.
This UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Napoli will be played on Mar 12, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Napoli prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
