Barcelona vs Napoli: Visitors will need to overcome Spanish hoodoo

Both Barcelona and Napoli will be battling for a coveted spot in the quarter-finals of this season’s UEFA Champions League when they lock horns on Tuesday at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (which is serving as Barcelona’s temporary home ground this season). With the first leg having finished as a surprise 1-1 draw, the stakes will be even higher for both the Blaugrana and the Partenopei in this contest.

Four teams have already booked their spots in the quarter-finals, with Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and PSG all looking forward to Friday’s draw to determine their opponents. Over the next few days, another four will join them, and naturally, both Barcelona and Napoli will be aiming to continue their respective runs in European club football’s premier competition.

When this fixture was announced, the majority of observers tipped Barcelona to have no issues qualifying for the next round, simply due to the gulf in terms of experience between the Blaugrana and Napoli in this competition. After all, the Blaugrana are no strangers to the Champions League, and are featuring in their 28th competition this season. By contrast, Napoli are newer faces to European club football’s premium competition, and although the Partenopei made an impressive run last term as well as won the Scudetto, the overwhelming belief was that Xavi’s side would likely be the winner of this two-legged series.

Yet, despite taking a lead through veteran striker Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona were unable to hold onto their slender advantage, which gave Napoli a chance to pull level through the highly-rated Victor Osimhen, and will definitely add another layer of intrigue when the two sides renew acquaintances on Tuesday.

In terms of build-up to this match, Barcelona have been in pretty solid form lately. Although Xavi’s men are out of the Copa del Rey and are eight points behind Real Madrid in the battle for the La Liga title, the Blaugrana come into this contest unbeaten in their last eight out of all competitions. Given that it is highly unlikely they will win La Liga, the pressure will be on Xavi and his team to try to make amends in the Champions League to try to put some kind of shine on what has been overall a rather disappointing season for the Spanish powerhouse.

Meanwhile, interim boss Francesco Calzona, who is Napoli’s third manager this season, appears to have restored some balance to the club. The Partenopei come into this tie unbeaten in their last five across all competitions, but the reigning Scudetto champions are well and out of the title race. Napoli not only sit in seventh spot but are a whopping 31 points behind an Inter side that have been simply unstoppable, and they are already out of the Coppa Italia after a shock 4-0 loss to Frosinone last December, while they were narrowly beaten by Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana final.

In addition, Napoli are facing a real uphill battle here. Barcelona have progressed in all but one of their last 21 two-legged ties during which they avoided a loss in the first leg, while the Partenopei have been eliminated in every single one of their last 11 UEFA ties in which they failed to win the first leg. The Italian side have never beaten Barcelona in five prior attempts, and overall have struggled with a frustrating Spanish hoodoo that has seen them lose their last seven two legged ties against Spanish teams in European competition.

As such, the odds do not look good for the Partenopei to continue their European adventure – on paper at least. Still, the beautiful thing about football is its unpredictability, and any fan of the game will be certainly aware the there are always plenty of surprise results, especially in the Champions League. Will Napoli successfully end their Spanish hoodoo on Tuesday? Or will Barcelona book their first quarter-finals appearance in four years as they aim to salvage a disappointing season?

After 90 minutes – or perhaps more – we all surely will know the answer.

Key stats: Barcelona vs Napoli

• Napoli have never beaten Barcelona in European competition (D3 L2)
• Barcelona’s home record against Italian clubs is W19 D7 L3
• The Blaugrana have a record of W9 L5 in two-legged clashes against Italian teams
• Meanwhile, the Partenopei have an overall record of W3 D1 L8 against Spanish sides
• In addition, Napoli have won just one of their last nine two legged ties against Spanish teams (W1 L8) and have lost all of their last seven
• Napoli have won just two of their last 17 clashes versus Spanish teams (D6 L9)