Barcelona hosts Napoli after a Draw in the First Leg
FC Barcelona is scheduled to play against Napoli in the reverse leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 on March 13. Their first-leg encounter resulted in a draw, which has raised the excitement among both teams’ fans, who are waiting to see who will progress to the quarters, Times Now reports.
The First Leg Story
The first leg saw Barcelona showing a dominant gameplay throughout, being the one to break the deadlock with their leading man upfront, Lewandowski’s strike. However, Napoli managed just a single shot on target, which was converted into a goal by their striker Osimhen’s finish, making it all square.
Barcelona’s Form & Position
FC Barcelona will head for the second leg with some positives and negatives with them. The bad news is that two of the central midfielders, Frenkie De Jong and Pedri, are sustaining an injury after De Jong suffered a right ankle sprain and Spaniard Pedri picked up a new injury to his right hamstring against their clash with Athletic Bilbao last Sunday. This adds to the already injured players like Marco Alonso and Ferran Torres. Xavi has to look for alternative options to emerge victorious in the second leg.
Their current form is a bit of a roller coaster. After smashing four goals against Getafe, they went goalless against Bilbao. They must play another La Liga match against Mallorca on March 9 before the UCL fixture.
The bright side is that the second leg is scheduled to be played at Barca’s current home, Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companies. This will be a good motivational factor for them and help them mentally. Apart from that, Xavi still has the likes of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Joao Felix, who can lead without others.
Napoli’s Form & Position
While Napoli doesn’t have such an injury list, their current form is also not filled with victories. However, they won the Serie A last season; they sit seventh on the Serie A table with eight losses and seven draws.
The good news is they have defeated Juventus in their recent match. They will look to display a powerful and enduring show to go past Barcelona and enter the UCL quarters. But they must be mentally prepared to be courageous in front of Blaugrana fans.
The Ultimatum
Barcelona last reached the quarters of UCL in the 2019/20 season; since then, they haven’t found the door open. Napoli reached the quarters last season but was defeated by arch-rivals AC Milan. Both teams have an equal chance to go through, with Barcelona having the home-ground factor on their side. We have to wait and see which will endure and come out victorious.
