Barcelona – Napoli. Find out all the information on this clash in the knockout stages of the Europa League between FC Barcelona and Naples.
A shock in the style of the Champions League… And yet these two clubs face each other this Thursday, February 17 from 6:45 p.m. for the first leg of the Europa League. For this meeting, Xavi, coach of the Blaugranas will be deprived of Clément Lenglet, Samuel Umtiti, Sergi Roberto, Memphis Depay and Ansu Fati. On the Neapolitan side, coach Luciano Spalletti will have to compose without Axel Tuanzebe, Hirving Lozano and Matteo Politano. Accustomed to the Champions League, FC Barcelona intends to return there next year, its coach confirmed it in the pre-match conference “The message is clear: our main objective is to return to the Champions League next year, and this competition is an additional opportunity to achieve this. There are two routes to get there, either through La Liga (Barça currently occupies 4th place in the Spanish championship, which awards the last ticket for the C1), or by the Europa League, and we will seize our chance“.
For this, Xavi will be able to rely on the Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé. A time sidelined following problems related to his contract extension, the 2018 world champion is back in the group and the Spanish technician intends to use the tricolor winger: “It will depend on what I see in training, but for sure he helps us a lot. Against Espanyol he played very well. He’s part of the team, and he’ll play whenever we need him.“.
What time does Barcelona – Naples start?
The kick-off of the shock of these knockout stages of the Europa League between FC Barcelona and Naples is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. from the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona.
On which channel to follow Barcelona – Naples?
Holder of the Europa League TV rights, RMC Sport 2 will broadcast the match. RMC Story offers the retransmission of the match in clear.
To follow this Europa League round of 16 on smartphone, tablet or computer, you will need to subscribe to the MyCanal or RMC Sport application. To view the meeting in clear on RMC Story, you will need to download the RMC BFM play application.
What probable compositions for Barcelona and Naples?
Barcelona: Ter Stegen – Dest – Pique – E.Garcia – Alba – F.De Jong – Busquets – Pedri – Adama – Aubameyang – Gavi.
Napoli: Meret – Di Lorenzo – Koulibaly – Rrahmani – M.Rui – Elmas – Anguissa – F.Ruiz – Insigne – Zielinski – Osimhen.
What are the predictions for this shock of the knockout stages of the Europa League?
Reversed in the Europa League after their 3rd place in the Champions League behind Bayern Munich and Benfica, FC Barcelona aims “to qualify for the Champions League next year” according to Xavi, their coach. Winning the Europa League would qualify them directly for the C1. Jorge Sampaoli’s players are favorites this Thursday evening and if you want to bet for Sergio Busquets and his partners, the odds of victory fluctuate between 1.87 (Bwin) and 2.00 (Betclic). But if you rather believe in a Neapolitan feat, know that the odds of a victory for Victor Osimhen, former Lille resident, and his partners vary between 3.65 (France-pari) and 3.95 (Unibet).