Napoli VS Barcelona Match Prediction
2020-02-25
20:00:00
Napoli
VS
Barcelona
Our Prediction Tip
Napoli will win this match.
2020-02-2520:00:00 Napoli will win this match.
Bet365 have the following odds available for this match:
Napoli and Barcelona have played four times, all in friendlies, since 2011, with Barcelona winning three and losing once.
Bet365 have the following odds available for this match:
Napoli are at 21/10, a draw is at 5/2, and Barcelona are at 6/5.
Napoli have not had the kind of season they would have liked, for obvious reasons. They have had player and manager personnel issues and have languished in Serie A, sitting in the middle of the table for much of it. They have played better recently, though, by winning four out of five and getting past Inter in the Coppa Italia, so they are playing decently well ahead of this. Remember, they might be wounded, but they still have a highly capable team that has beaten Liverpool twice in two seasons.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are also not where they would like to be. Despite remaining a huge threat in every competition they are in, the Catalan giants have not played like they want to. The style is different, and they rely so much upon Messi. Still yet, they are locked into a battle for the title in Spain’s La Liga. They have been knocked out of the Copa del Rey, so they will hope that might help them a bit in this fixture and beyond.
Napoli’s home form this season has been middle of the road, truth be told. In all competitions, they have eight wins, three draws, and six losses thus far. Five of those losses have come in the last nine home outings as well. That said, they have beaten Liverpool, Lazio, and Juventus there, so they are a major danger, whether you want to believe it or not. Barcelona have had a roller coaster time of their road outings. They have eight wins, four draws, and five losses in all comps so far. Two of those losses came at Bilbao and they have lost two of their last three ahead of this showdown. Their highlight wins on the road were at Inter and Atletico Madrid so far.
Ladbrokes have Napoli’s double chance at 2/3.
Betfair have both sides scoring at 1.53.
Napoli are not likely to advance from this tie, as their record in Europe has been pedestrian of late. But a result, or even a victory, in the first leg is far from out of the question. They win here, but the Catalans get a crucial away goal.
Gennaro Gattuso is missing defenders Kevin Malcut and Kalidou Koulibaly due to injuries. Fernando Llorente has been dealing with sickness, so his status is up in the air.
The goals have dried up for Dries Mertens in Serie A this season, he has just six thus far, but the same can’t be said in the Champions League. He has five to his name in this competition, and one assist, and his versatility and guile makes him the perfect foil to Barca’s back line. In midfield, Fabian Ruiz is a man to keep an eye on. The Spaniard has been linked to a number of other big clubs and he’s in good form at the moment having scored the winner on Friday night for them.
Napoli have four wins and a loss in their last five matches:
1-2 win at Brescia
0-1 win at Cagliari
0-1 win at Inter Milan (Coppa Italia)
2-3 home loss vs Lecce
2-4 win at Sampdoria
Quique Setien will be missing left back Jordi Alba and forwards Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez due to injuries for this first leg in Naples.
The one saving grace that Barca have is Lionel Messi, who remains their key man, by far. He scored four times on Saturday, taking him to 18 in La Liga so far, joining his 12 assists. One way to end a ‘drought,’ huh? He’s had a down season in the Champions League, but you have to think he’s going to catch on fire at some point. In the midfield, Arthur’s re-arrival has been huge for them of late. He got a reward of sorts by scoring on Saturday, and that will help him ahead of a much trickier occasion in Naples.
Barcelona have four wins and a loss in their last five matches:
5-0 home win vs Eibar
2-1 home win vs Getafe
2-3 win at Real Betis
1-0 loss at Athletic Bilbao (Copa del Rey)
2-1 home win vs Levante
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