Barcelona –
Barcelona will face Napoli in the second leg Champions League Round of 16 middle of this week. This is the most important match for Los Cules this season.
After drawing 1-1 at the Stadio Diego Maradona last month, Barcelona and Napoli will duel at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, Wednesday (13/3/2024) early morning WIB tomorrow.
Looking at the meeting records between the two teams, Barcelona is clearly the favorite considering that they are unbeaten in five duels in all competitions, winning two and drawing three.
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However, Barcelona should also be wary of their poor record of never winning the last four matches in the knockout phase of the Champions League since beating Napoli 3-1 in 2019/2020.
This is Xavi’s focus for tomorrow’s match considering how important winning is for them. Because the Champions League is Barcelona’s only chance of winning a trophy this season, after falling far behind in LaLiga and being eliminated from the Copa del Rey.
Moreover, it has been a long time since Barcelona made it past the round of 16, after being beaten 2-8 by Bayern Munich four years ago.
“This is the most important match of the season. We are ready to face it. We haven’t qualified for the quarter-finals for a long time, so this is a big opportunity,” said Xavi in ESPN.
“There is a desire to achieve good results here and compete with the top teams. Napoli may not be in their best form this season, but they are the team that won the Italian League last season. I hope this will be an amazing night.
(mrp/adp)