Barcelona and Napoli Tied at 1-1 Ahead of Pivotal Second Leg
Barcelona vs Napoli - 12/03/2024
Maciej Rogowski Photo / Shutterstock.com
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The UEFA Champions League quarter-final line-up will be completed this week, with four last-16 second legs taking place across Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Tuesday evening, Barcelona welcome Napoli to Catalonia, with the contest finely poised at 1-1 following a close-fought first leg in Italy.
Can Barca complete the job on home soil? Or will the reigning Italian champions spoil the party? Keep reading to discover what Forebet’s AI algorithm predicts.
It’s fair to say that Barcelona were the better side during the first leg, as the visitors racked up 12 shots while limiting the hosts to a solitary attempt on target.
Robert Lewandowski gave Barca the lead on the hour mark, but a 75th-minute equaliser from Victor Osimhen ensured that the first leg ended all square.
Thanks to a 1-0 victory over Mallorca at the weekend, Xavi’s side carry an eight-game unbeaten streak into the second leg, having picked up five wins and three draws.
In the Champions League, Barcelona have recorded four wins, one draw and two losses this season, although they have managed to win just one of their last four matches.
Napoli are also enjoying an unbeaten run at the moment, having registered two wins and four draws since their last loss.
Following an eye-catching 6-1 thrashing of Sassuolo, Francesco Calzona’s men claimed a 2-1 victory over Juventus before drawing 1-1 with Torina last time out.
Like Barcelona, Napoli have experienced an inconsistent Champions League campaign up to now, recording three wins, two draws and two defeats so far.
Having scored at least one goal in seven of their previous eight matches across all competitions, Calzona’s men will be confident of reaching the quarter-finals.
Head-to-head: Trends show that Napoli have failed to beat Barcelona in three Champions League meetings, recording two draws and one loss.
The two sides met during the round of 16 in the 2019-20 Champions League, with Barca winning the second leg 3-1 in Spain to achieve a 4-2 aggregate victory.
Team news: Barcelona’s injury list contains Pedri, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong and Alejandro Balde, while there are question marks over Marcos Alonso and Ferran Torres.
Napoli, on the other hand, will be without injured duo Jens Cajuste and Cyril Ngonge, while Piotr Zielinski has been left out of the Champions League squad.
Both sides will be eager to book their place in the quarter-finals, but Barcelona’s home advantage should give them the edge.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score on Tuesday. However, Barcelona are expected to outscore Napoli and reach the last eight.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
UCL
414019
1
2 - 1
2.75
14°
1.85
1.85
3.80
4.00
no
no
no
3 - 1(2 - 1)
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