This is our tip for the Barca-Napoli rematch

The battle between Barcelona and Napoli in the BL continues from 1-1. The Catalans could be missing their entire midfield, which could make things difficult for them.

The Barcelona vs Napoli match remained wide open after the first leg in Italy, as a 1-1 draw means practically nothing. The Catalans are in a slightly better position. They are not at a disadvantage and can fight for progress in front of their home crowd. On the other side Napoli have perhaps played their best football of the season in recent weeks,. It means the Italians can take heart from this.

The bookmakers have ‘naturally’ picked Barcelona as the heavy favourites. The home success less than two times the odds, while the market for quarter-final appearance at around 1.50.

Team news Barcelona vs Napoli

Whether the bookmakers are right about this odds will be revealed on Tuesday evening, but we would be a little more cautious. Barcelona are struggling with a lot of absentees and the midfield in particular could be in trouble. Gavi has been out for a long time, Pedri and de Jong have been out for two weeks. It could be said that Xavi’s ‘original’ midfield will be completely absent. The defender Christensen will play as deffensive midfilder and facing one of the biggest challenges of his career.

The Catalan press has also not named Ronald Araujo in the starting line-up, which could be another blow for Barca. The defenders are also without Balde and Marcos Alonso, while Torres and Rapinha are on the injured list in attack. Barca really need to tighten up those trousers, as it is not easy to perform well with so many absences.

Napoli have an almost full squad and have found themselves a little too much since the first leg three weeks ago. In the league, they won the tie against Juve, had a parade against Sassoulo and are already on the doorstep of the TOP6.

So it’s not hard to see the contrast between the two sides. With a struggling and injury-ravaged Barcelona and an increasingly in-form Napoli set for an interesting battle.

Free pick for Barcelona vs Napoli

Obviously, it would be foolish to underestimate Barcelona, especially at home. The key will be how much they can control the match. In the first leg, they managed to do so for quite a long time and took the lead, but Napoli gradually ‘got into the game’ and dominated the midfield in the second half. This could be the key moment of the match, and looking at the expected line-ups, the dynamics could be more in the Italian side.

From this point of view, the value is not in Barcelona’s odds.

Of course, the class in the attacking line could decide the match, but we can be sure that Napoli will not sell their skins cheaply. Barca’s defense can be embarrassing. We think Napoli could be good for a goal away from home, so the goal/goal option is our main betting idea for this match.

Both team to score + Under 7.5 cards@1.88