Barcelona will begin their UEFA Europa League journey when they take on Napoli in the first leg of their playoff tie at Camp Nou.
The knockout stages of the 2021/22 UEFA Europa League kickstart this Thursday night. And La Liga heavyweights Barcelona will be involved in the competition for the first time in 18 years when they play hosts to Serie A giants Napoli for the first leg of their playoff fixture.
The new format of the Europa League sees teams finishing at the top of their group advancing straight to the Round of 16, while the runners-up have to go through a playoff fixture against third-placed teams from the Champions League. As a result, Napoli, who finished second in Group C of the Europa League, face Barcelona, who ended up third in Group E of the Champions League.
Barcelona endured one of their worst-ever campaigns in Europe’s top-tier competition this season as they won just two of their six fixtures, losing three (D1), to end up in the third-place behind Bayern Munich and Benfica. This will be the first time they are competing in the secondary European competition since 2003/04 and head into Thursday’s game on the back of a disappointing 2-2 draw against Espanyol.
Napoli were part of a tricky group involving Leicester City, Spartak Moscow and Legia Warsaw. The Partenopei, who are challenging for the Serie A title, were unable to carry their league form to the continental tournament and finished second behind Spartak due to a poor head-to-head record even though both teams had ten points (W3 D1 L2). They played a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan in their most recent game.
Ahead of this exciting match-up at Camp Nou on Thursday night, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams.
Team News & Tactics
Barcelona
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Manager Xavi Hernández speaks to the media ahead of Thursday’s #BarçaNapoli in the @EuropaLeague????? ??? ?? ????̧? ??+
? https://t.co/v28AM27Zzq pic.twitter.com/ObRLxLHMIR— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 16, 2022
Barcelona will be without Dani Alves, who was not registered for the knockout phase of the Europa League. Apart from the Brazilian, Ronald Araujo is also set to miss out due to a calf issue he picked up against Espanyol. Samuel Umtiti, Ansu Fati, Sergi Roberto and Alejandro Balde are all out injured, whereas Memphis Depay and Clement Lenglet are also major doubts.
Xavi Hernandez is expected to line his team up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Sergino Dest should step in at right-back in Dani Alves’s absence, while Jordi Alba is a certain starter on the opposite flank. Gerard Pique will be the leader of the defence and will be partnered with Eric Garcia.
Captain Sergio Busquets is the undisputed starter at the base of the midfield for the Blaugrana. He will be tasked with cutting out attacks and recycling possession. Frenkie de Jong will support the veteran star while also making driving forward runs from the centre. Pedri should occupy the third slot in the centre of the park for Barcelona.
The frontline will see two January signings in Ferran Torres and Adama Traore featuring from kickoff yet again, while Gavi, who has impressed playing out wide of late, should continue on the left-wing. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele will provide options from the bench.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Dest, Pique, Garcia, Alba; de Jong, Busquets, Pedri; Adama, Torres, Gavi
Napoli
January signing Axel Tuanzebe has been excluded from the Europa League squad. Napoli will also have to make do without Hirving Lozano, Stanislav Lobotka, and Matteo Politano due to injuries.
? #Spalletti: "We must try to be the real Napoli at all times. We have the ability and the attributes to produce good football. We go out there to win games"#BarçaNapoli #UEL
? #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/e7YdFFmNhd
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) February 16, 2022
Luciano Spalletti will set his team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation at Camp Nou and look to pressure Barcelona to force turnovers in dangerous areas before hitting them quickly. Alex Meret should start between the sticks for the visiting side, where he will be shielded by the centre-back pairing of Amir Rrahmani and Kalidou Koulibaly. Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Mario Rui should be the two full-backs.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa will form the midfield double pivot alongside Fabian Ruiz. The former will screen the defence, whereas the latter will act as a playmaker. He will look to join forces with Piotr Zielinski and provide the creative essence for the Partenopei going forward.
Eljif Elmas and Lorenzo Insigne ought to line up out wide, and a lot will be riding on the latter if Napoli are to pose a serious threat to the Barcelona defence. Victor Osimhen should start as the centre-forward.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Koulibaly, Rui; Anguissa, Ruiz; Elmas, Zielinski, Insigne; Osimhen
Key Stats
- The only previous meeting between Barcelona and Napoli in major European competitions saw the Catalans eliminate the Italian outfit at the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League in 2019/20.
- Barcelona have lost three of their last five home games in major European competitions (W1 D1) as many as they had lost in their previous 74 such encounters.
- Napoli have lost each of their last four away games in the knockout stages of major European competitions, with one of those defeats coming against Barcelona in the Champions League in 2019/20.
- This will be Barcelona’s first match in the secondary competition of European football since 2003/04 when they were eliminated by Celtic in the Round of 16 stage of the UEFA Cup.
- Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has scored four goals in just 168 minutes in the UEFA Europa League this season, scoring in each of his last three games in the competition.
Player to Watch
Adama Traore
Adama Traore’s last two Premier League seasons: Two assists ?
Adama Traore’s first two Barcelona games: Two assists ? pic.twitter.com/Ae65RxZWXe
— GOAL (@goal) February 14, 2022
Having secured a surprise return to his boyhood club in the January transfer window, Adama Traore has begun life back at Barcelona with a bang. The Spanish winger has easily been the Catalans’ best player in the last two games against Atletico Madrid and Espanyol, contributing with two assists and generally looking very lively from the right flank.
Traore will once again hold the key for the Blaugrana as they look to unlock the Napoli defence on Thursday night. His pace, power and close control could put Mario Rui under intense pressure, while his improved end product should lead to chances for the hosts. Expect another influential outing from the Spanish international.
Prediction
Barcelona 1-1 Napoli
Barcelona have made some progress under Xavi Hernandez, but last weekend’s game against Espanyol showed that they still have a very long way to go. Napoli have enjoyed a steady rise under Luciano Spalletti this season. While they may have failed to top their group in the Europa League, the Partenopei have shown that they can hold their own against big clubs, beating AC Milan and holding Juventus and Inter Milan to draws in Serie A.
Considering that Barcelona have not been consistent enough and will be without their best defender in Ronald Araujo, they could find it hard to keep Victor Osimhen in check on Thursday. At the same time, the in-form Adama Traore and Gavi could cause many problems to the visitors’ defence. As a result, The Hard Tackle predicts this one to end in a score draw.
