Italian champions Napoli and Spanish champions Barcelona have little or no hope of retaining their respective league titles this season, which adds even more importance to this round-of-16 tie.
Napoli are under new management with Francesco Calzona taking charge for the first time and he needs an instant improvement from his struggling side to halt free-scoring Barcelona.
Napoli vs Barcelona Betting Tips
- Barcelona to win @ 7/5 with bet365
- Robert Lewandowski to score at any time @ 8/5 with bet365
- Juan Jesus to be booked @ 5/2 with bet365
All odds are courtesy of bet365, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
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Barca to sabotage Calzona’s big night
New Napoli boss Francisco Calzona could not have dreamed up a tougher opening night than Barcelona at home in the Champions League.
The current Slovakia national team boss, who has never managed a club side, has been parachuted into the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium hours after Walter Mazzarri’s sacking.
He will have had one full training session with his new squad and then comes the small order of trying to halt Barcelona.
And everything points to Napoli not being up to the task given the poor form the current Serie A champs are in.
Under Mazzarri they had won just two of their last eight Serie A encounters, scoring just five goals over that period.
They have missed top scorer Victor Osimhen while he has been away at the AFCON, though he hasn’t returned fully fit and seems unlikely to be able to play a full 90 minutes against Barcelona, according to reports.
They are going to struggle to keep out a Barca side who have found the net in each of their last 21 matches, scoring at least two in each of their last seven away games.
Napoli vs Barcelona Tip 1: Barcelona to win @ 7/5 with bet365
Lethal Lewandowski to continue hot streak
Barcelona hot-shot Robert Lewandowski scored both goals on Saturday as the Catalan giants won 2-1 at Celta Vigo.
That’s four in his last three games, eight since the turn of the year and 17 for the season.
The penalty-taking Pole has been a major threat against everyone for over a decade now and even at the age of 35 he remains a big threat on the big occasion.
Napoli vs Barcelona Tip 2: Lewandowski to score at any time @ 8/5 with bet365
No surprise to see Jesus see yellow
Napoli defender Juan Jesus is nicely rested for this match having sat out Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Genoa due to suspension.
He got the afternoon off courtesy of a fifth yellow card of the campaign, all five accrued since early December. He also has a booking to his name in the Champions League as well, in the 2-1 win at Braga in September.
The 32-year-old will never again get close to the 14 yellows he managed in one season in 2012-13, and again two seasons later, back in his Inter Milan days.
But those numbers show what he’s capable of and he’s a clear major contender for a booking in this contest.
Napoli vs Barcelona Tip 3: Juan Jesus to be booked @ 5/2 with bet365