Barcelona will be hosting Napoli at Camp Nou on Thursday for their UEFA Europa League knockout round playoffs clash, after being transformed into the competition from the Champions League group stage.
The hosts are currently sitting fourth in the La Liga table on 39 points, while Napoli are 3rd in the Serie A with 53 points from their 25 matches.
Barcelona’s last Champions League group stage match saw them go down to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich on their travels.
Barca picked up one win, one draw and one loss from their three Champions League group stage matches at home this season.
The Catalan champions have drawn each of their last six matches in all competitions, scoring 12 goals and conceding 11 over that duration, scoring first in two of the six contests.
Ansu Fati and Pique share the scoring lead for Blaugrana in European play this season after scoring one goal each in the Champions League group stage.
The previous encounter between the sides saw Barcelona take a 3-1 victory in a Champions League round of 16 match at Camp Nou in August 2020.
Napoli won their last group stage match, defeating Leicester City 3-2 at home, with Eljif Elmas scoring a brace to lead the scoring.
With 10 points on their name, Napoli finished second in their group, while Barcelona finished third on seven points in their Champions League group.
The visitors have been away from Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for three matches in the competition this season, collecting four points from a possible nine. They have scored in each of their six Europa League contests this season.
Napoli have been led in the attack by Elmas and Victor Osimhen, who have each scored four times in this Europa League campaign, tying for fourth in the competition’s scoring charts.
Barcelona vs Napoli head to head
The two clubs have previously met on 6 occasions in all competitions, where Barcelona are leading with 4 victories while Napoli have won once, and they have drawn in one. Barcelona have scored 15 goals and conceded 4. They have drawn once and Barcelona have won once in their last two meetings.
Napoli 1-0 Barcelona 06/08/14
Barcelona 2-1 Napoli 08/08/19
Napoli 0-4 Barcelona 11/08/19
Napoli 1-1 Barcelona 25/02/20
Barcelona 3-1 Napoli 08/08/20
Barcelona latest home form
Barcelona have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just two of their last five matches. They recently lost 3-2 to Real Madrid after extra time in the Spanish Super Cup. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded 9.
Barcelona 0-1 Real Betis 04/12/21
Barcelona 1-1(P) Boca Juniors 14/12/21
Barcelona 3-2 Elche 18/12/21
Barcelona 2-3(E) Real Madrid 12/01/22
Barcelona 4-2 Atletico Madrid 06/02/22
Barcelona latest away form
Barcelona have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their eight most recent matches. They lost 3-2 to Athletic Bilbao after extra time in the Copa del Rey. In their last five matches, the have scored 8 goals and conceded 7.
Linares Deportivo 1-2 Barcelona 05/01/22
Granada 1-1 Barcelona 08/01/22
Athletic Bilbao (E)3-2 Barcelona 20/01/22
Alaves 0-1 Barcelona 23/01/22
Espanyol 2-2 Barcelona 13/02/22
Napoli latest home form
Napoli have recently been on a relatively good form at home, as they have lost just two of their last five matches. They recently lost 5-2 to Fiorentina after extra time in the Coppa Italia. In their last five matches, they have scored 8 goals and conceded 8 as well.
Napoli 0-1 Spezia 22/12/21
Napoli 1-0 Sampdoria 09/01/22
Napoli 2-5(E) Fiorentina 13/01/22
Napoli 4-1 Salernitana 23/01/22
Napoli 1-1 Inter Milan 12/02/22
Napoli latest away form
Napoli have recently been on a good run of form on the road, as they have been unbeaten in their last five matches. They won their last two matches, defeating Bologna and Venezia in a 2-0 scoreline. In their last five matches, they have scored 8 goals and conceded 3.
Sassuolo 2-2 Napoli 01/12/21
AC Milan 0-1 Napoli 19/12/21
Juventus 1-1 Napoli 06/01/22
Bologna 0-2 Napoli 17/01/22
Venezia 0-2 Napoli 06/02/22
Barcelona news
Ansu Fati suffered a hamstring injury against Athletic Bilbao last month and is likely to be sidelined for at least another month, while Ronald Araujo remains a major doubt.
Sergi Roberto will be absent following a thigh surgery, while Samuel Umtiti remains sidelined with a foot injury he picked up during training.
Napoli news
Midfielder Stanislav Lobotka is expected to be absent for a few weeks due to his muscle injury, while Matteo Politano will be sidelined until early March with a calf injury.
Napoli will miss out Leonardo Candellone after he signed his transfer to Pordenone, while Hirving Lozano will be absent with a shoulder injury.
Prediction and Odds
We are expecting a hard-fought contest here, and we envisage that Napoli will need to work hard to find the net of their opponents if they are to win here.
With the hosts having a good record against Napoli, we see them coming into the game with the vision of winning at home.
Odds: 1 1.90 X 2.05 2 2.20
Probable outcomes
Barcelona 1-0 Napoli
Barcelona 2-0 Napoli
Barcelona 2-1 Napoli
Barcelona 2-2 Napoli
Barcelona 1-2 Napoli
















