Napoli vs Barcelona: Betting Tips, Match Prediction & Preview

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.

Napoli Team News

Walter Mazzarri has no new or current injuries.

Barcelona Team News

Xavi, on the other hand, has Gavi, Alejandro Balde, Marcos Alonso, Joao Felix, Ferran Torres and Sergi Roberto all unavailable.

In their last five games in all competitions, Napoli have one win, two draws and two losses.

The Final of the Supercoppa Italiana saw Napoli take on Inter Milan. The red card to Giovanni Simeone in the 60th minute put Napoli on the back foot. Lautauro Martinez grabbed a goal in the 91st minute to give Inter Milan the 1 - 0 win.

The clash against Lazio saw Napoli unable to register a single shot on target, despite having 61% of the possession. Lazio also could only manage one shot on target but couldn’t convert it as both had to settle for a 0 - 0 draw.

Napoli bounced back against Verona. Diego Coppola opened the scoring for Verona in the 72nd minute but an own goal from Pawl Dawidowicz levelled the game just seven minutes later. Kvicha Kvaratskhelia grabbed a goal in the 87th minute to give Napoli the 2 - 1 win.

Theo Hernandez scored the only goal of the game in the 25th minute to give AC Milan the 1 - 0 win, with Napoli only managing two shots on target even with 60% of the possession.

The last time out for Napoli was against Genoa. Morten Frendrup gave Genoa the lead in the second minute of the second half but a goal from Cyril Ngonge in the 90th minute rescued a 1 - 1 draw for Napoli.

In their last five games in all competitions, Barcelona have three wins, one draw and one loss.

It was an eight goal thriller for Barcelona against Villarreal. Gerard Moreno gave Villarreal the 1 - 0 lead at halftime and Ilias Akhomach added a second ten minutes into the second half. Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri and an own goal from Eric Bailly gave Barcelona the 3 - 2 lead but Goncalo Guedes equalised in the 84th minute and extra time goals from Alexander Sorloth and Jose Luis Morales gave Villarreal the 5 - 3 win.

Barcelona bounced back against Osasuna. Vitor Roque scored the only goal of the game in the 63rd minute to give Barcelona the 1 - 0 win over ten-man Osasuna, who had Unai Garcia sent off four minutes after the goal.

Robert Lewandowski, Gundogan and Roque all scored in the 3 - 1 win over Alaves. Samu Omorodion was on the scoresheet for Alaves and despite the red card to Roque, Alaves couldn’t take advantage and Barcelona held on for the 3 - 1 win.

It was another goalfest for Barcelona as they took on Granada. Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the 14th minute but Ricard Sanchez equalised for Granada before halftime. Facundo Pellistri then gave Granada the lead but Lewandowski equalised for Barcelona. Ignasi Miquel regained the lead for Granada but another goal from Yamal rescued the 3 - 3 draw for Barcelona.

The most recent outing for Barcelona was against Celta Vigo. Lewandowski gave Barcelona the lead just on the stroke of halftime, but Iago Aspas equalised just two minutes into the second half. However, in the 97th minute Lewandowski converted a penalty to grab a 2 - 1 win for Barcelona.

Both sides have faltered in their domestic leagues, but it’s likely that Barcelona will take the lead into the second leg. However, it’s likely to be a close affair with both teams on the scoresheet. Napoli 2-3 Barcelona

Napoli vs Barcelona will be broadcasted on TNT Sports in the U.K. and can be followed via radio on BBC Five Live or TalkSport.

• Latest match predictions
• Football tips
• Football accumulator tips
• Football bet of the day