Saturday night’s Champions League last 16 second leg tie between Barcelona and Napoli is on a knife’s edge. Barcelona go into the game with an away goals advantage but due to internal conflict, could fail in the competition for the third straight season.
Last year’s semifinal capitulation will be fresh in the mind of fans and players. Yet, it was the second straight season in which Barcelona fell apart in the Champions League. In 2017-18, Barcelona took a 4-1 lead to Rome where they conceded three goals without reply against Roma.
The Blaugrana have one distinct advantage to the last two seasons in the Champions League and that is playing the second leg at home. They have the away goal advantage against a Napoli team that blew hot and cold during the season.
🏋️♂️Those @ChampionsLeague vibes#BarçaNapoli pic.twitter.com/Pl9abzL5TG— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 7, 2020
🏋️♂️Those @ChampionsLeague vibes#BarçaNapoli pic.twitter.com/Pl9abzL5TG
Gennaro Gattuso’s team won the Coppa Italia defeating Juventus on penalties but could only manage a seventh-place finish to the Serie A campaign. They will feel confident of winning away at Barcelona as an away goal throws the advantage their way.
Barcelona have personnel issues heading into the Saturday night fixture. It is believed manager Quique Setien will deploy his team in a 3-5-2 formation. It is a formation that Setien used when he took over the club but was dropped due to being ineffective.
Setien is expected to start Nelson Semedo, Clement Lenglet, and Gerard Pique in defence. Samuel Umtiti is injury and news broke this week that Barcelona want to sell the Frenchman due to his incredibly high wages. Barcelona lost €200 million during the coronavirus pandemic and desperately need funds.
Barcelona have even more worries on the pitch. Antoine Griezmann is not fully fit. Meanwhile, Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal are both suspended for the fixture.
Midfielder Arthur will not play for the Blaugrana after returning to Brazil and quitting the club. Barcelona are threatening to sue the player ahead of his transfer to Juventus.
Gattuso also has an injury problem after confirming winger Lorenzo Insigne “suffered tendon damage to the adductor longus muscle in his left thigh, in addition to bone bruising,” in Napoli’s final game of the domestic season. He is being monitored and could still make the team.
Napoli merely need an away goal to overturn the tie. They should get that goal but Barcelona should find the back of the net as well. The match should unfold in a similar fashion to the first leg. Barcelona and Napoli will need extra-time to sort out which side moves on to the quarterfinals.