Barcelona will hope to reach the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 when they take on Napoli in the second leg of their playoffs tie on Thursday.
The UEFA Europa League resumes this week with the second leg ties of the knockout playoffs stage scheduled for Thursday. And Barcelona will aim to book a safe passage through to the Round of 16 when they lock horns with Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Napoli reached the UEFA Europa League knockout playoffs stage after finishing as Group C runner-up behind Spartak Moscow. The Italian giants are currently on a six-game unbeaten run, but their last three matches have ended in a 1-1 draw, two of which came in Serie A. As a result, they have fallen two points adrift of league leaders AC Milan.
On the other hand, Barcelona dropped to the Europa League after ending the Champions League group stage third in Group E. But the Blaugrana‘s form has improved significantly of late, winning three of their last five games in all competitions (D2). Xavi Hernandez’s men produced their best performance under the former Spanish midfielder this past weekend, beating Valencia 4-1.
The first leg, played last week at Camp Nou, saw Barcelona come from a goal down to hold Napoli to a 1-1 draw, courtesy of Ferran Torres’ penalty. Ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter.
Team News & Tactics
Napoli
? Allenamento mattutino ?♂️#UEL
? #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/HA1mTPDqst
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) February 23, 2022
Luciano Spalletti has one new roster issue hampering his preparations ahead of the visit of Barcelona. On Thursday, the Napoli manager will be bereft of the services of seven first-team players due to various fitness concerns.
Spalletti had been sweating over the fitness of Giovanni Di Lorenzo after he clashed head with Giorgio Altare in Napoli’s game against Cagliari. But as per an announcement on Napoli’s official website, the Italian international is not feeling the after-effects from the incident and is likely ready to take on Barcelona.
But the same cannot be said about Kevin Malcuit, who sustained a calf injury in the same game and will likely be unavailable for the midweek contest. The French defender has joined Axel Tuanzebe (back), Stanislav Lobotka (muscle injury), Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (groin), Matteo Politano (calf), Hirving Lozano (shoulder) and Lorenzo Insigne (thigh) on the sidelines.
Insigne is unquestionably the major absentee for Napoli against Barcelona, with Dries Mertens expected to fill his role on the left flank. Eljif Elmas is a certain starter on the right-wing, with the North Macedonian attacker being the creative hub for the hosts. Victor Osimhen will replace Andrea Petagna up top, spearheading the Napoli attack in the process.
Diego Demme will sit in the double-pivot in midfield alongside Fabian Ruiz, with the German ace tasked with keeping things tight in the middle of the park. Ruiz will also shoulder defensive responsibilities and look to provide the creative impetus from the middle of the park. Piotr Zielinski will have a free role high up the pitch, linking up with the three attackers in the process.
With Di Lorenzo likely fit to be involved, the Italian international will line up as the right-back for Napoli. Juan Jesus could get the nod over Mario Rui on the opposite flank, with Spalletti looking to create a lopsided defensive unit to contain the tricky Adama Traore. Amir Rrahmani and Kalidou Koulibaly will form the central defensive partnership, with Alex Meret a certainty in goal.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Koulibaly, Jesus; Ruiz, Demme; Elmas, Zielinski, Mertens; Osimhen
Barcelona
Unlike his counterpart in the Napoli dugout, Xavi Hernandez has been handed a major boost on the team news front ahead of the trip to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. The Barcelona boss will be without five first-team players on Thursday. In addition, Dani Alves is unavailable as he has not been registered in the Europa League squad.
The good news is that Gerard Pique is back with the squad after being unavailable last weekend due to a one-match ban. Pique’s return leaves Alejandro Balde (ankle), Samuel Umtiti (foot), Clement Lenglet (hamstring), Ansu Fati (hamstring) and Memphis Depay (hamstring) on the sidelines.
? SQUAD LIST ?#NapoliBarça pic.twitter.com/irJ8e04lUz
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 23, 2022
Depay has suffered a setback on his recovery trail but should be available for the game against Athletic Bilbao on the weekend. In his continued absence, Ferran Torres picks himself in the left-wing berth, with the Spaniard looking to exploit space in between the lines instead of attacking the flank.
Adama Traore will be direct in his approach on the opposite flank, looking to utilise his break of pace on the right-wing. Traore’s directness is why he will likely get the nod over Ousmane Dembele, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will spearhead the Barcelona attack against Napoli.
As for the midfield unit, Xavi has a selection dilemma, with Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong all making a case for themselves with their performances against Valencia. Pedri and de Jong could pip Gavi to the creative midfield slots, with Sergio Busquets sitting at the base of the midfield, aiming to pull the strings from a deeper position on the pitch.
Pique’s availability means the veteran centre-back should pair up with Ronald Araujo at the heart of the Barcelona defence, with Sergino Dest and Jordi Alba the two full-backs. Marc-Andre ter Stegen will start between the sticks but will need to keep his form in check after an unconvincing performance against Valencia.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Dest, Araujo, Pique, Alba; Pedri, Busquets, de Jong; Traore, Aubameyang, Torres
Key Stats
- Including qualifiers, only one Spanish side has ever won away at Napoli in European competition in ten visits (D3 L6), a 3-1 win for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League in March 2017.
- In major UEFA European competition, Barcelona have beaten six different Italian clubs away from home (Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Juventus, Lazio, AC Milan and Udinese), more than any other side. Napoli are one of two teams they have faced but not beaten, along with AS Roma.
- Napoli have progressed from all eight of their UEFA European knockout ties when they have drawn the first leg away from home, most recently in the Round of 32 of the Europa League in 2013/14 against Swansea City (0-0 first leg, 3-1 second leg).
- Barcelona mustered 21 shots in their 1-1 draw in the first leg against Napoli, 35% of the total they managed in six UEFA Champions League games this season (21/60). Ferran Torres had nine of those 21 shots, more than any Barcelona player managed in the Champions League this season, and a tally surpassed only once by a player in a European game for the club in the last ten seasons: Lionel Messi vs Juventus in December 2020 (11).
- In the first leg against Napoli, Pedri created five chances for his teammates – aged 19 years and 84 days. He was the youngest player to achieve that in a UEFA Europa League knockout match for 11 years, since Christian Eriksen (19y 3d) created five for Ajax against Anderlecht in the last 32 in February 2011.
Player to Watch
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Barcelona’s major problem this season has been goals, or the lack thereof. The Catalan giants had been failing to win matches because they did not have a reliable option inside the opposition box for much of the first half of the season, especially with Sergio Aguero forced to hang up his boots.
But Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s winter addition should greatly mitigate Barcelona’s goalscoring issues, with Sergio Busquets even suggesting that his arrival is akin to a gift. Aubameyang seems to have hit the ground running, scoring a match-winning hat-trick against Valencia.
The former Arsenal captain will be keen on making the difference to ensure Barcelona’s progression to the Round of 16. Aubameyang will be the player capable of converting the chances the La Liga heavyweights were guilty of spurning in the first half, making him the Player to Watch for the game.
Prediction
Napoli 1-2 Barcelona
The game is tantalisingly poised after the 1-1 draw in the first leg, especially with the away goals rule a thing of the past. So with everything on the line, Napoli and Barcelona should engage in an evenly-contested affair, despite the hosts’ injury crisis.
That said, Lorenzo Insigne’s absence should be telling in the end, especially with Barcelona coming into the game buoyed by their big win over Valencia. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, in particular, will be the man to make the difference on Thursday.
After a heartbreaking performance in the first leg, Ferran Torres should also make amends, scoring the game’s opening goal. So, despite their strong home record in such a scenario, Napoli will bow out of the UEFA Europa League, with Barcelona eking out a narrow 2-1 win to reach the Round of 16.
