UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Season

[KTChampions]

Yesterday, the rest of Real's competitors (even theoretical ones) again lost points, and now Real again has a 10-point advantage over Barcelona 
As for Barcelona, I just don’t know what those who consider them favorites in the game with Napoli are thinking. Barcelona can't even beat Granada at home and concede 3 goals per game from an outsider which scores less than a goal per game on average. This is ridiculous.
Thank God Atlético didn't win yesterday either (thus my multi-bet was destroyed twice) otherwise I would have been very angry 

But Napoli is currently even worse in Serie A, ranking 9th. So we also can't expect Napoli to beat Barcelona. But after seeing Barcelona held to a draw by Granada, now we also can't hope that Barcelona will succeed in beating Napoli. This is very funny because the Barcelona vs Napoli match will be a match that brings together two teams that have experienced inconsistencies this season. It's just that in terms of rankings, Barcelona is still ahead in 4th place in the league. This is different from Napoli which was thrown all the way to 9th place. Last season these two teams were champions in their respective domestic leagues. But this season, both of them are having difficulty getting close to first place. 

I have already written that for Barcelona such a third place is a sign of a crisis that is comparable to the ninth place of Napoli. And it seems that the bookmakers agree with me, look at the quotes:

2.58 - 3.65 - 2.58

In the first game, which will take place in Italy, the chances are absolutely equal. I think it’s clear that if Napoli wins the first game (even with a minimal score), then the “randomness” in this pair will sharply decrease and they will become favorites in the fight for the quarterfinals. Well, of course, if Barcelona wins or holds a draw, then it will become a clear favorite in the home game. For me personally, only one thing is clear so far: a total over 3.5 looks very real.

[marcous]

They are well renowned teams, but by no means does it guarantee any of those two teams that they have a superior role in this duel between Barcelona and Napoli.

Both are having problems and Napoli just lost an important game against Milan. That was the backdoor they had in the fight for the top four, but they failed. At the same time Barcelona is playing nonsense. This is one of the most interesting games because it can't be predicted who will hold the upper hand.

The inconsistencies experienced by Barcelona and Napoli in their domestic league make us doubt who deserves to be the favorite when the two face each other in the round of 16. However, I still tend towards Barcelona, regardless of their current performance, Xavi squad mentality in the UCL is better than Napoli. It true, historical factors sometimes can't make any difference, it's all about how prepared Xavi is to improve the team performance. Apart from that, betting on this match certainly requires more careful consideration, because I also agree that this match is very difficult to predict.

In terms of squad depth, Barcelona is superior to Napoli, and I think Barcelona chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals are higher than Napoli. With the completion of the Africa Cup of Nations, Osimhen will be able to join Napoli again, and he returns at the right time to help his team. Barcelona and Napoli will play one more match in the local competition, before the round of 16 of the UCL rolls around, this match can be a reference for assessing their next chances in the UCL.

[hahay]

More stable? I don't think Bayern Munich are more stable since Tuchel started to manage the team. I haven't seen them this much struggling before for winning the Bundesliga title.  

This is good to see for me though considering that I want a different team becoming champions. But if Bayern Munich don't manage to win the Bundesliga title I think Tuchel's seat would be under huge threat. Because it has become like a tradition for Bayern Munich to become champions here. They have an 11-title streak at the moment. This is just enormous you know and they wouldn't like to see Leverkusen putting an end to this.

It seems like you have forgotten the events and drama that happened in last season, because last season Bayern Munich also only relied on the bad luck experienced by Dortmund until finally Bayern Munich managed to win the Bundesliga trophy . After all, in the previous few seasons it was also that Bayern Munich worked hard to get trophies and it was not easy at all. But yes, because this season Bayer Leverkusen have actually been very impressive, then Bayern Munich's efforts still failed and I think that should still be a normal result.

Therefore, I think at least Bayern Munich can focus more on the Champions League because ya, with results that are not completely good in the Bundesliga, it doesn't mean that Bayern Munich is weak in the Champions League . Because for me, Bayern Munich still has a good performance at this moment and therefore, I believe Bayern Munich can still compete well in the Champions League if they prioritize the Champions League from now.

[Minor Miner]

Yesterday, the rest of Real's competitors (even theoretical ones) again lost points, and now Real again has a 10-point advantage over Barcelona 
As for Barcelona, I just don’t know what those who consider them favorites in the game with Napoli are thinking. Barcelona can't even beat Granada at home and concede 3 goals per game from an outsider which scores less than a goal per game on average. This is ridiculous.
Thank God Atlético didn't win yesterday either (thus my multi-bet was destroyed twice) otherwise I would have been very angry 

But Napoli is currently even worse in Serie A, ranking 9th. So we also can't expect Napoli to beat Barcelona. But after seeing Barcelona held to a draw by Granada, now we also can't hope that Barcelona will succeed in beating Napoli. This is very funny because the Barcelona vs Napoli match will be a match that brings together two teams that have experienced inconsistencies this season. It's just that in terms of rankings, Barcelona is still ahead in 4th place in the league. This is different from Napoli which was thrown all the way to 9th place. Last season these two teams were champions in their respective domestic leagues. But this season, both of them are having difficulty getting close to first place. 

Barcelona and Napoli are both renowned teams. And both these teams are in a very bad shape right now. It is very difficult to say which team is favorite in this match.

Napoli lost their last match against Milan. On the other hand, Barcelona team failed to win against a weak team like Granada. The match was drawn 3-3. Barcelona's main weakness is their defense. If Xavi is able to tighten up their defense then I'd say Barcelona can win against Napoli. Because currently the performance of Napoli's attacking players is relatively weak. Barcelona and Napoli will meet in just 10 days. So there is not much time for both the teams to fix the weaknesses of the squad.

They are well renowned teams, but by no means does it guarantee any of those two teams that they have a superior role in this duel between Barcelona and Napoli.

Both are having problems and Napoli just lost an important game against Milan. That was the backdoor they had in the fight for the top four, but they failed. At the same time Barcelona is playing nonsense. This is one of the most interesting games because it can't be predicted who will hold the upper hand.

As both the teams are in the same position now, it is not possible to pick a favorite team in this match. Barcelona's performance is now erratic. But I think the match will not be a draw. The first match is Napoli's home match. Napoli will definitely want to dominate the home match. So if Barcelona perform badly they are likely to lose. Xavi really needs to develop a better match strategy. And the defense must be kept strong. If the defense is weak, it is difficult to perform well against a team like Napoli. Barcelona's defenders have been erratic in their attack.

[Cookdata]

But Napoli is currently even worse in Serie A, ranking 9th. So we also can't expect Napoli to beat Barcelona. But after seeing Barcelona held to a draw by Granada, now we also can't hope that Barcelona will succeed in beating Napoli. This is very funny because the Barcelona vs Napoli match will be a match that brings together two teams that have experienced inconsistencies this season. It's just that in terms of rankings, Barcelona is still ahead in 4th place in the league. This is different from Napoli which was thrown all the way to 9th place. Last season these two teams were champions in their respective domestic leagues. But this season, both of them are having difficulty getting close to first place. 

Not like Barcelona are also in good shape. They played one of their domestic round yesterday with Granada, a relegated team for that matter and yet the match ended in 3-3 as draw, if not that they have perform very well in the beginning of the season, they will be in the same spot like Napoli right now. Napoli also are suffering from their own mistake for pushing conflicts between there players, now the two players don't blend well again, Osimhen just finished Afcon yesterday, he has not been around and I'm not sure if he is going to be around for this game because he is having injury.

If I'm to bet against this two teams, I wouldn't bet for win or loss, I bet for goals and I will pick over 1.5 for Napoli and Barcelona but since Barcelona will be home for the first leg, it's possible for Xavi to improve the boys to give a lead against Napoli in the coming matche, that's if Osimhen isn't around but if he doesn't play, Napoli risk losing this match for sure.

[doomloop]

Bayern Munich management must expect Tuchel to improve Bayern Munich performance both in Bundesliga and UCL. He shouldn't be hired to win UCL only, Bundesliga is also very important for Bayern Munich. In Bundesliga, Leverkusen is leading with 5 points, the chance to win the trophy is a bit smaller now. But in UCL, Bayern Munich still have the same chance as other teams to win the trophy. Well, Tuchel may focus a bit on UCL, but I think he won't reduce the efforts to catch Leverkusen in Bundesliga table.

Leverkusen's consistent performances in the Bundesliga so far certainly make it a tough task for Bayern Munich to win the Bundesliga title. Bayern Munich are trying but they can't close the points gap with Leverkusen. The 5 point gap between the two teams is too much in the way Bayern Munich and Leverkusen are currently competing. Bayan Munich should not only win their next matches but also expect them to win the next matches so that Leverkusen loses against other teams. If Leverkusen loses points against other teams and Bayan Munich regularly gets points, then the points gap between the two teams will narrow.

Tuchel should change his strategy and improve his performance because it is very difficult for this team to do well in the Champions League with this kind of performance.

I feel like it is not going to be easy for Bayern to close that gap anymore, it looks like we are going to end up with something different for the first time in a decade, Leverkusen could win the title. I get that it is going to be crazy to see something like this and people are still worried about it, but I think it is going to be close to a point where we could end up with a good win over everyone else.

In the end, we are going to be doing something that will benefit everyone because Bayern dominating is not fun, there will be more viewers thanks to some other team getting it, which would mean more advertisement money since there are more people watching it. I doubt it will continue later on though, next season Leverkusen will not be this good.

[CryptoBuds]

Bayern Munich management must expect Tuchel to improve Bayern Munich performance both in Bundesliga and UCL. He shouldn't be hired to win UCL only, Bundesliga is also very important for Bayern Munich. In Bundesliga, Leverkusen is leading with 5 points, the chance to win the trophy is a bit smaller now. But in UCL, Bayern Munich still have the same chance as other teams to win the trophy. Well, Tuchel may focus a bit on UCL, but I think he won't reduce the efforts to catch Leverkusen in Bundesliga table.

Leverkusen's consistent performances in the Bundesliga so far certainly make it a tough task for Bayern Munich to win the Bundesliga title. Bayern Munich are trying but they can't close the points gap with Leverkusen. The 5 point gap between the two teams is too much in the way Bayern Munich and Leverkusen are currently competing. Bayan Munich should not only win their next matches but also expect them to win the next matches so that Leverkusen loses against other teams. If Leverkusen loses points against other teams and Bayan Munich regularly gets points, then the points gap between the two teams will narrow.

Tuchel should change his strategy and improve his performance because it is very difficult for this team to do well in the Champions League with this kind of performance.

I feel like it is not going to be easy for Bayern to close that gap anymore, it looks like we are going to end up with something different for the first time in a decade, Leverkusen could win the title. I get that it is going to be crazy to see something like this and people are still worried about it, but I think it is going to be close to a point where we could end up with a good win over everyone else.

In the end, we are going to be doing something that will benefit everyone because Bayern dominating is not fun, there will be more viewers thanks to some other team getting it, which would mean more advertisement money since there are more people watching it. I doubt it will continue later on though, next season Leverkusen will not be this good.

I don't think the impact of the defeat against Leverkusen will be reflected in the Champions League match. Munich's performance against Leverkusen was not as good as expected. And Leverkusen are now 4 points ahead of Munich at the top of the table. However, Bayern Munich will try their best to do well in the Champions League.

I can't say Bayern Munich's opponent Lazio is strong. The performance of this team is erratic. And even if you compare the squads of these two teams, Bayern Munich will be ahead. These two teams met in the 2021 Champions League. Bayern Munich have won both matches against Lazio. Hopefully Munich will win the next match as well.

[yudi09]

Barcelona isn't any better either so I aswell will not be expecting Barcelona to beat Napoli, moreover this is champions league an snot their various domestic leagues where they are usually able to put up any form of performance and be able to still get ahead probably because they are used to the style of play in their domestic league.

Because both of them are not in the best playing form in the domestic league, when they compete in the first leg of the Champions League in round 16, it is difficult to predict how the result will be.
Even though Barcelona is not very good in La Liga, it is possible that they can get the desired results if judged from the experience and winning mentality that the Blaugrana have.
Not so good in the domestic league, it is not certain that in the Champions League they will also perform less convincingly.

The enthusiasm to get to the final round is probably still very strong in the minds of Barcelona players and coaches.
Leg 1 in Italy, I analyzed if Barcelona could get points. Bad scenario for the results of the 1st leg, I'm sure it will be a draw.

[ShowOff]

Barcelona isn't any better either so I aswell will not be expecting Barcelona to beat Napoli, moreover this is champions league an snot their various domestic leagues where they are usually able to put up any form of performance and be able to still get ahead probably because they are used to the style of play in their domestic league.

Because both of them are not in the best playing form in the domestic league, when they compete in the first leg of the Champions League in round 16, it is difficult to predict how the result will be.
Even though Barcelona is not very good in La Liga, it is possible that they can get the desired results if judged from the experience and winning mentality that the Blaugrana have.
Not so good in the domestic league, it is not certain that in the Champions League they will also perform less convincingly.

The enthusiasm to get to the final round is probably still very strong in the minds of Barcelona players and coaches.
Leg 1 in Italy, I analyzed if Barcelona could get points. Bad scenario for the results of the 1st leg, I'm sure it will be a draw.

No, I am not considering a draw even though Barcelona drew against Granada in La Liga yesterday. Barcelona must return home with a win from the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, they must fight and win an important victory from the first leg. Probability does not show who is the favorite in this match, but Barcelona is a team that has better experience in the Champions League than Napoli and this is what will differentiate the two teams.

In the last match, Barcelona had problems in defense where they tended to fail to anticipate set pieces and counter attacks. Xavi has to fix it and of course he has to formulate the best plan ahead of the match. There is time to make things better or at least different compared to yesterday's match, but the Barcelona squad must be unified again even though several players are still injured.

[kro55]

Barcelona isn't any better either so I aswell will not be expecting Barcelona to beat Napoli, moreover this is champions league an snot their various domestic leagues where they are usually able to put up any form of performance and be able to still get ahead probably because they are used to the style of play in their domestic league.

Because both of them are not in the best playing form in the domestic league, when they compete in the first leg of the Champions League in round 16, it is difficult to predict how the result will be.
Even though Barcelona is not very good in La Liga, it is possible that they can get the desired results if judged from the experience and winning mentality that the Blaugrana have.
Not so good in the domestic league, it is not certain that in the Champions League they will also perform less convincingly.

The enthusiasm to get to the final round is probably still very strong in the minds of Barcelona players and coaches.
Leg 1 in Italy, I analyzed if Barcelona could get points. Bad scenario for the results of the 1st leg, I'm sure it will be a draw.

No, I am not considering a draw even though Barcelona drew against Granada in La Liga yesterday. Barcelona must return home with a win from the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, they must fight and win an important victory from the first leg. Probability does not show who is the favorite in this match, but Barcelona is a team that has better experience in the Champions League than Napoli and this is what will differentiate the two teams.

In the last match, Barcelona had problems in defense where they tended to fail to anticipate set pieces and counter attacks. Xavi has to fix it and of course he has to formulate the best plan ahead of the match. There is time to make things better or at least different compared to yesterday's match, but the Barcelona squad must be unified again even though several players are still injured.

If Barcelona want to qualify for the next round, they will definitely need to play well in the upcoming away matches. It cannot be said that Barcelona will win the home match. We have seen poor performances from Barcelona players in several home matches this season.

Barcelona are not in good form as we have seen. Against a lesser team like Granada, they conceded 3 goals and drew the match. However, the condition of Napoli is also weak against the opponent. Both Napoli and Barcelona have weak defenses. So the match will be competitive. I would say that the team with good match strategy can dominate this match.

[Josefjix]

If Barcelona want to qualify for the next round, they will definitely need to play well in the upcoming away matches. It cannot be said that Barcelona will win the home match. We have seen poor performances from Barcelona players in several home matches this season.

Barcelona are not in good form as we have seen. Against a lesser team like Granada, they conceded 3 goals and drew the match. However, the condition of Napoli is also weak against the opponent. Both Napoli and Barcelona have weak defenses. So the match will be competitive. I would say that the team with good match strategy can dominate this match.

Facing Napoli was not the deal but there's nothing to be done about it. Barcelona facing Granada was one of the worst performance from the top side, they failed to convert most of their chances to goals and let with no option than settle for shared points. Barcelona have everything to bounce back to winning ways as usual but the big question pops up, why are they not exploring like an elite team? It's weigh out of balance to watch Barcelona struggling to win matches. Xavi Hernandez already said his mind, he's leaving Camp Nou at the end of the 2023/2024 campaign season.

[borovichok]

Barcelona isn't any better either so I aswell will not be expecting Barcelona to beat Napoli, moreover this is champions league an snot their various domestic leagues where they are usually able to put up any form of performance and be able to still get ahead probably because they are used to the style of play in their domestic league.

We are aware that both teams are doing poorly and inconsistently. Between Barcelona and Napoli, who will qualify for the next UCL phase? Probably I chose Napoli because they know how to handle the highest ranking team. I'm sick and weary of Barcelona dropping points against destitute opponents. This is clearly not the clue technique we all expected from the club this season. Xavi Hernandez has a core task to strive for this season, but it appears that it is taking the coach longer to achieve his ambitions, he needs to put in more work.

[yudi09]

-snip-

No, I am not considering a draw even though Barcelona drew against Granada in La Liga yesterday. Barcelona must return home with a win from the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, they must fight and win an important victory from the first leg. Probability does not show who is the favorite in this match, but Barcelona is a team that has better experience in the Champions League than Napoli and this is what will differentiate the two teams.

It's not a problem if you don't consider a draw and remain optimistic that Barcelona will return to Spain with full points.
In terms of experience and winning mentality, you have similarities with me in seeing that side. The experience and mentality of winning in this big European tournament, Barcelona is superior to Napoli, but this cannot always be used as a guide to predicting the outcome of a match between two teams who are not in the best playing form. That's why I think that the most likely scenario to occur amidst conditions like that is a draw.

[Falconer]

-snip-

It's not a problem if you don't consider a draw and remain optimistic that Barcelona will return to Spain with full points.
In terms of experience and winning mentality, you have similarities with me in seeing that side. The experience and mentality of winning in this big European tournament, Barcelona is superior to Napoli, but this cannot always be used as a guide to predicting the outcome of a match between two teams who are not in the best playing form. That's why I think that the most likely scenario to occur amidst conditions like that is a draw.

A draw is not a big problem for Barcelona because it is the first leg, but Barcelona must win the second leg especially when they are playing at home. Barcelona and Napoli were both title winners in their domestic leagues last season, but both teams' performance this season has declined. Barcelona has the advantage of being an experienced team, but Napoli has a home advantage that cannot be completely ignored. Barcelona can lose to Napoli in the first leg, of course if Napoli are really able to give their best until the end of the match.

I agree a draw is a better possibility than either of them winning, but Barcelona is slightly favored due to their experience. The unstable performance of both teams makes a draw reasonable, but it would not be a surprise if Barcelona could win the match. But before that, Copenhagen vs Manchester City and Leipzig vs Real Madrid are two matches worth waiting for tomorrow. Regarding that match, Real Madrid and Manchester City are the favorites.

[red4slash]

The enthusiasm to get to the final round is probably still very strong in the minds of Barcelona players and coaches.
Leg 1 in Italy, I analyzed if Barcelona could get points. Bad scenario for the results of the 1st leg, I'm sure it will be a draw.

Honestly by looking at Barcelona's performance in this half of the season I am now starting to be skeptical about their performance in almost all competitions including the Champions League.
At the moment Barcelona's situation in domestic competition is not good and it could interfere with their situation for the Champions League competition especially with their opponents being Napoli so this will make doubts even greater.

Indeed, Napoli are still not able to provide good contributions in domestic competitions but with this situation, the matches that will run in the next 10 days could be difficult to predict where surely for now both clubs are targeting the Champions League because domestic competitions are difficult for them to compete but of course with their current performance let alone to make the probability of winning, they improve their performance is still very troublesome because of the inconsistency they have now. 

[JariKriting]

But Napoli is currently even worse in Serie A, ranking 9th. So we also can't expect Napoli to beat Barcelona. But after seeing Barcelona held to a draw by Granada, now we also can't hope that Barcelona will succeed in beating Napoli. This is very funny because the Barcelona vs Napoli match will be a match that brings together two teams that have experienced inconsistencies this season. It's just that in terms of rankings, Barcelona is still ahead in 4th place in the league. This is different from Napoli which was thrown all the way to 9th place. Last season these two teams were champions in their respective domestic leagues. But this season, both of them are having difficulty getting close to first place. 

Barcelona isn't any better either so I aswell will not be expecting Barcelona to beat Napoli, moreover this is champions league an snot their various domestic leagues where they are usually able to put up any form of performance and be able to still get ahead probably because they are used to the style of play in their domestic league.

Barcelona has managed to maintain a fair position in their league table but then if you take a proper look at their performance, considering the fact that they don't have a really good defense, if Napoli is able to penetrate their defense well enough then they can be sure to beat Barcelona because Napolitano doesn't conceed as much goals as Barcelona do conceed in a single match recently, just that Napoli is suffering some kind of set backs recently and that has got a whole lot of effects on their performance generally  but then they could do better in the champions league as they don't have a really rough team to contend.

Although Barcelona is currently weakening in the domestic league, Napoli's performance in the domestic league is worse than Barcelona. Napoli is currently only ranked 9th in the Italian league. while Barcelona is still in the top flight of the Spanish league right at number 3.

[koang]

Barcelona isn't any better either so I aswell will not be expecting Barcelona to beat Napoli, moreover this is champions league an snot their various domestic leagues where they are usually able to put up any form of performance and be able to still get ahead probably because they are used to the style of play in their domestic league.

We are aware that both teams are doing poorly and inconsistently. Between Barcelona and Napoli, who will qualify for the next UCL phase? Probably I chose Napoli because they know how to handle the highest ranking team. I'm sick and weary of Barcelona dropping points against destitute opponents. This is clearly not the clue technique we all expected from the club this season. Xavi Hernandez has a core task to strive for this season, but it appears that it is taking the coach longer to achieve his ambitions, he needs to put in more work.

Bad season. The only thing Barcelona players  will lift this season is their hands

Xavi must correct the situation against small teams, kill matches, review the poor defensive positioning, and narrow the spaces between the lines.
And Barca needs Players who can give their best on the pitch and show a good attitude.
Half of the squad should be sold in the summer. New players and the new coach.
But Barca will rule someday... Right now, it is Madrid's time

[Palakka]

No, I am not considering a draw even though Barcelona drew against Granada in La Liga yesterday. Barcelona must return home with a win from the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, they must fight and win an important victory from the first leg. Probability does not show who is the favorite in this match, but Barcelona is a team that has better experience in the Champions League than Napoli and this is what will differentiate the two teams.

In the last match, Barcelona had problems in defense where they tended to fail to anticipate set pieces and counter attacks. Xavi has to fix it and of course he has to formulate the best plan ahead of the match. There is time to make things better or at least different compared to yesterday's match, but the Barcelona squad must be unified again even though several players are still injured.

Of course, Barcelona fans won't want a draw, but they want their idol team to win in the match against Napoli. You need to remember that in this champions match, each team will appear at full strength and from both sides. Napoli will be strengthened again by Osimhen because he has re-joined the Napoli team after previously playing for his country in the African Cup. For this reason, this match will be quite difficult to predict considering that both teams are experiencing setbacks in the domestic league.

But as you said, this match might be a stage for Barcelona to beat Napoli because in terms of strength Barcelona is still stronger than Napoli. However, the situation could change from our assumptions because Napoli is playing at home, of course they will not allow Barcelona to beat them.

[letteredhub]

Barcelona isn't any better either so I aswell will not be expecting Barcelona to beat Napoli, moreover this is champions league an snot their various domestic leagues where they are usually able to put up any form of performance and be able to still get ahead probably because they are used to the style of play in their domestic league.

We are aware that both teams are doing poorly and inconsistently. Between Barcelona and Napoli, who will qualify for the next UCL phase? Probably I chose Napoli because they know how to handle the highest ranking team. I'm sick and weary of Barcelona dropping points against destitute opponents. This is clearly not the clue technique we all expected from the club this season. Xavi Hernandez has a core task to strive for this season, but it appears that it is taking the coach longer to achieve his ambitions, he needs to put in more work.

The both teams are in same level in their performance and as a result it makes this particular match hard to confidently predict who's going to survive at the end of the day. If you say Napoli, by just imagining how poorly they had been in their local league you will want to say Barcelona will survive but then it's as if Barcelona are not excluded for the disappointing losses they have given to their fans since January to now. Both teams a struggling respective and that's what makes it hard to even give any one an assured support to win. I will be predicting a G-G in this game if am to bet on it

[Sexylizzy2813]

Barcelona isn't any better either so I aswell will not be expecting Barcelona to beat Napoli, moreover this is champions league an snot their various domestic leagues where they are usually able to put up any form of performance and be able to still get ahead probably because they are used to the style of play in their domestic league.

Honestly I still haven't figured out what's happening to Barcelona at la Liga this season, is like they've gotten from bad to worse. When Xavi went there, the Barcelona team struggled till they got things back in place and this season they're like newly promoted side, they have been doing pretty bad, always struggling to get a win and Napoli on the other hand are having same problem ever since they won their league title things haven't been going well for them this season.
So in this encounter I don't know who is even stronger than the other, two teams who are managing to get a win in their respective leagues, teams who lack that consistency are coming to play against each other in the champions league. I just have to say that they're going to play out a draw at least for this first leg, then the return leg would speak for it self.