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Napoli v Barcelona
Serie A strugglers Napoli have an almost impossible task of toppling Spanish giants Barcelona in their Round of 16 tie, but the La Liga champions have shown vulnerabilities in the knockout stages of the competition before.
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Napoli currently find themselves in 8th position on the league table, only a year after they were locked in a title battle with Juventus. The Italian club have had off-the-pitch issues which led Carlo Ancelotti to leave the club and join Everton. Other notable stars like Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Kalidou Koulibaly are also on the verge of departing the San Paolo Stadium this summer. Napoli have featured in the Champions League every year since 2016 but will now need a miracle to even attain Europa League qualification.
Barcelona, on the other hand, are not having the easiest of seasons themselves, trailing bitter rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish league and having already been knocked out of the Copa Del Rey at the hands of Athletic Bilbao. Their Spanish Supercup semi-final defeat against Atletico Madrid led to the end of manager Ernesto Valverde’s tenure at the Camp Nou, with former Real Betis boss and renowned Cruyffist Quique Setien taking up the job.
Barcelona have attracted constant scrutiny over the years over their lack of Champions League success, especially when Real Madrid have won four in the last six years. The Spanish champions have not tasted European success since the treble-winning 2014/15 season but look to make things straight this time around.
Lionel Messi will once again be the centre of attention when Barcelona travel to Napoli and the Argentinian superstar will hope to continue his Champions League goalscoring form in what should be a one-sided affair in Naples and a fortnight later in the Catalonian capital.
Prediction: Barcelona
