Match Preview : Napoli VS Barça- UCL R16

It’s the big one. The biggest game of our season so far. For the first time in 2 years, we return to the Champions league R16 and we make our comeback against the reigning Italian champions Napoli. Live from Naples, its the first leg between Barça and Napoli. Both the reigning champions of their respective leagues. And funnily enough, both enduring relatively similar inconsistent seasons so far. Nevertheless though, its going to be a difficult game especially away from home, infront of the Napoli fans. But its an incredible opportunity to finally change things around for us. Like i say, its not going to be easy. Napoli have got some incredible players, especially in attacking areas. And we can’t underestimate them. But this is the stage we want to be on. Now lets prove something.

A Quick Look at our opponents:

Like i said, Napoli have got some fantastic players. Obviously the names who stand out are Kvara and Osimhen who will look to cause us damage. But they also have talent running through the team. However, not everything is rosy coming into the game. They recently sacked their head coach just a matter of days ago. And their interim manager was announced just yesterday. He is the Slovakia coach who is taking over for the rest of the season. They’re also currently 9th in the Serie A table. 9 points off the top 4 and a whopping 27 points off leaders, Inter. However, like I’ve said all season, given our form, we can’t underestimate anyone. So regardless of how up and down Napoli’s season have been, we can’t afford to take the game lightly. Arriving to this game with the right mentality is the most important thing.

Predicted lineup:

When it comes to the lineup, I don’t think much will change from the team who started on the weekend against Celta Vigo. The only 1 or 2 changes i could see is Iñigo Martinez replacing Cubarsi. And Gundogan coming into the midfield for Roque. Yamal could do with a rest, but id prefer to rest him against Getafe because they’re just violent. Against Napoli, we need our best players and as crazy as it sounds, Yamal is one of our best players even at 16 years old. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Xavi start Raphinha. But i think it’ll be Yamal who gets the start. Joao Felix and Roberto are back in the squad. Half of that is good news, although I don’t think felix starts. However, having Felix and Roque coming off the bench could be a game changer.