In the first leg of the Champions League playoffs, Napoli will host Barcelona.

The Italian outfit progressed to this stage as runners-up from Group C, behind Real Madrid.

They collected 10 points, with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses, both against group leaders Los Blancos.

The Catalans on the visiting side topped Group H with 12 points, with 4 wins and 2 losses.

Both teams haven’t impressed in their respective leagues this season. Napoli is 9th with 36 points, dealing with inconsistent form.

Additionally, Napoli has sacked manager Walter Mazzarri after just three months in charge and replaced him with Francesco Calzona.

They are coming off a 1-1 draw against Genoa, hoping for a positive result here.

On the visiting side, Barcelona is also dealing with inconsistency this season and they are out of La Liga’s title race but also out of the Copa del Rey.

They are, however, on a 4-game unbeaten streak now, coming off a 1-2 win against Celta Vigo with Lewandowski finding his scoring rhythm again.

Teams last met in the Europa League play-offs in 2022, with Barcelona emerging victorious 2 – 4.

Players to watch for are a Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen on Napoli’s side and Lamine Yamal, who could become the first 16-year-old to score in this competition on Barcelona’s side.

Considering form, head-to-head, Barcelona has an advantage here.

The match prediction for the football match between Napoli and Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League uses several algorithms including team form comparison, head-to-head (h2h), and other important statistics.

Utilizamos estos avanzados modelos estadísticos en combinación con las noticias más recientes y las opiniones de los expertos para analizar los datos y elaborar las predicciones más precisas posibles.