UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Season

[shinratensei_]

We are only halfway through the first leg of this round. Next week there are some really attracting games such as Inter - Atletico Madrid and Napoli - Barcelona.

I think both of these games are big candidates to be very competitive and lovely to watch. My favourite sides for these games are Inter and Napoli honestly. I don't think Inter would lose or draw with Atletico Madrid home while they are in a great shape. When it comes to the other game I don't like Barcelona at all this season. They are really weak at defending. This can be a good advantage for Napoli home together with Osimhen's return from AFCON. 

Serie a clubs are having very strong defensive lines this season. It will be very hard for the club from other leagues to beat it. This is the main problem that must be solved as soon as possible. Atletico madrid and barcelona are going to face the big clubs.
Barcelona was always struggling against intermilan but it has pretty good record against napoli but that's only a few match. We don't know what's going to happen with barcelona this season coz it has so many unsolved problems that was also burdening the players to perform better than previous match.
Barcelona will be missing some players like gavi and another advantage for napoli to beat barcelona. The strategy that will be used by barcelona can be identified easily coz barcelona is always putting beautiful football as its philosophy. We can argue that if the best strategy to beat barcelona was through defending straetgy.
It's not my first time to see that how abrcelona was always struggling to beat the parking bus strategy made by mourinho. It's gonna be the most effective way for barcelona to lost some aggregates against napoli. Im hoping napoli to get some aggregates to lead the game.
Playing defensive will be maing barcelona's player feel so desperate to winning the game. The only best strategy can be used by napoli when it played away or home.

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[budi691]

We are only halfway through the first leg of this round. Next week there are some really attracting games such as Inter - Atletico Madrid and Napoli - Barcelona.

I think both of these games are big candidates to be very competitive and lovely to watch. My favourite sides for these games are Inter and Napoli honestly. I don't think Inter would lose or draw with Atletico Madrid home while they are in a great shape. When it comes to the other game I don't like Barcelona at all this season. They are really weak at defending. This can be a good advantage for Napoli home together with Osimhen's return from AFCON. 

Barcelona this season cannot be expected to be in the Champions League, they have repeatedly shown something that is not good. Yes, they have felt this problem for a long time, especially when they started to falter in their finances. Now in the Champions League maybe they will be able to go further and get past the round of 16, but after that I increasingly doubt they will be able to get through round after round well.
Napoli this season has declined very much after they managed to become champions last season. A balanced match considering the performance of these two clubs, although personally I still see Barcelona as better than Napoli. The 2 matches between them will be very decisive, and maybe they will beat each other when they play as hosts, either Barcelona or Napoli.

Yes, even though Barcelona's performance is a little disappointing, and Napoli with their new coach has not shown promising performance, I see that both teams have more motivation to qualify for the next round, an interesting match to watch.
a very balanced match, both teams have a fairly balanced history, in my opinion there won't be many goals scored, the 1-0 score that Barcelona will win in the 2nd leg might be the deciding factor, or Napoli could give a surprise by eliminating Barcelona. , If this happens, it will be a bitter farewell for Xavi,

[Jody.Drummer]

Barcelona this season cannot be expected to be in the Champions League, they have repeatedly shown something that is not good. Yes, they have felt this problem for a long time, especially when they started to falter in their finances. Now in the Champions League maybe they will be able to go further and get past the round of 16, but after that I increasingly doubt they will be able to get through round after round well.
Napoli this season has declined very much after they managed to become champions last season. A balanced match considering the performance of these two clubs, although personally I still see Barcelona as better than Napoli. The 2 matches between them will be very decisive, and maybe they will beat each other when they play as hosts, either Barcelona or Napoli.

If in the end the two teams beat each other in two legs then that will definitely result in a lot of goals being scored. It is impossible for there to be only one goal or two goals and both teams will compete with each other to beat the aggregate if they want to qualify. But it doesn't rule out the possibility that in the end both teams will have to go through a penalty shootout to determine their qualification for the next round.

But it is true that the two teams are almost no different, both Barcelona and Napoli are still down with inconsistency results obtained in the domestic league and it is very difficult to bet on the winner. I wouldn't expect more from Barcelona and vice versa for Napoli, regardless of their current situation, they actually won't be able to face their next opponent. Well, it's only the best for these two teams and whoever wins or passes, they should only be able to give a minimum performance.

Maybe their target, both Barcelona and Napoli, is not to be eliminated in this round, because as I said before, in front of them they will definitely face tougher opponents, although we don't know who yet, but if you look at the list of clubs in this round of 16 , it is clear they will face a better prepared opponent. Yes, you are right, it is possible that they will compete with each other to determine who will advance to the next round via penalty shootout.
Barcelona have missed many things, usually they are one of the favorites in the Champions League, but that is not the case this season. Even though some people might consider them, in terms of percentage their chances of becoming champions are below other big clubs who have much better performances, one of which is their rival from La Liga, Real Madrid. Just looking at La Liga now, Real Madrid is not under strong pressure from Barcelona.

[Oluwa-btc]

We are only halfway through the first leg of this round. Next week there are some really attracting games such as Inter - Atletico Madrid and Napoli - Barcelona.

I think both of these games are big candidates to be very competitive and lovely to watch. My favourite sides for these games are Inter and Napoli honestly. I don't think Inter would lose or draw with Atletico Madrid home while they are in a great shape. When it comes to the other game I don't like Barcelona at all this season. They are really weak at defending. This can be a good advantage for Napoli home together with Osimhen's return from AFCON. 

Barcelona defenders lack's communication this season and most times, I do see a player trying to show himself meanwhile, I'm aware he does nothing in that defense for Barcelona.
I hope they finally set him for a good price ams valuation and sell him for the right amount. Barcelona did good last season but couldn't go ahead with it this season. Damnit with them finances otherwise some good ins should have turned things around for them.

Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid would be interesting, I'd say Inter Milan and I want to see how they go through this very round. No predicts for Barcelona and Napoli, I just want to watch and see how the gane flows.

[Weawant]

Yes, even though Barcelona's performance is a little disappointing, and Napoli with their new coach has not shown promising performance, I see that both teams have more motivation to qualify for the next round, an interesting match to watch.
a very balanced match, both teams have a fairly balanced history, in my opinion there won't be many goals scored, the 1-0 score that Barcelona will win in the 2nd leg might be the deciding factor, or Napoli could give a surprise by eliminating Barcelona. , If this happens, it will be a bitter farewell for Xavi,

Napoli hasn't been in their very best form and I would say they are not real looking promising a d same goes to Barcelona aswell but then if we are to see osimhen in the Napoli line up then I can be sure to see surprises surfacing but in the man's time I can't exercise certainty with any of both teams.

Xavi and his boys has always had to concede goals in their domestic league games recently and has not been in the best of their performance and this has made me doubt if they will be able to comfortably get a win over Napoli especially with the fact that they will be hosted by Napoli, they have not been really good with away games in recent times so I see it as it could be challenging for them because even in the weakness of Napoli they still will not want to just loose especially as this is champions league and not any other of their regular domestic league.

[Leviathan.007]

Things are going very good for real madrid right now. Real madrid can still win the game aaginst leipzig away is good enough. Why do we need to expect more if real madrid has already achieved what we wanted? it doesn't even make sense to hear that. I think that rela madrid will be going it even better.
The second leg if gonna happen at home for madrid. it's time for us to make sure we can get madrid to go to the next round. Leipzig will be losing against madrid soon.

I agree with you. Even though it was a 1-0 win, a win is still a win and it will be an advantage for Madrid in the second leg. Real Madrid is the host and has an aggregate goal advantage of 1-0. Madrid is able to perform very well at home and I think it looks like Leipzig no longer has a chance to win. Leipzig is very unlucky because they have to play Madrid in the round of 16 because Madrid is one of the favorites to win the Champions League this season.

After Real Madrid won the first leg, Leipzig will have difficulty facing Real Madrid in the second leg which will be played at Real Madrid proud stadium. Real Madrid's chances of qualifying for the next round are very big, they have two assets ahead of the second leg that are ready to take them to the next phase. Playing at their home ground and having the advantage in the first leg means that Real Madrid does not have the slightest pressure in the second leg, Real Madrid will try to calm down the next match in order to achieve the targets that have been set since the start of the season.

Real Madrid won a narrow 1-0 away match. And I think that will be enough to qualify for the next round. Madrid is very strong in home matches. At the same time, if Bellingham is with the squad in the home match, Madrid's performance will be even stronger.

Madrid's main weapon in the away match was not with the Bellingham squad. Even so, Real Madrid's performance was good enough. Bellingham's substitute Brahim Diaz scored to win the match for Madrid. Beating Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu is challenging for any big team. Leipzig's performance remains erratic. So it is very unlikely that Leipzig will win at the bernabeu.

Regardless of the result Leipzig got against Real Madrid and lost the game with a 1-0 result, I think they are going to have days before the second leg. Leipzig will face Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga and after that, they should face with Bayern Munich which is not going to be easy for them next Bochum and just after that match Leipzig will play the second leg against Real Madrid for the second legend this is a good reason to bet on Real Madrid even winning the second leg easier than the first game.

[beerlover]

After Real Madrid won the first leg, Leipzig will have difficulty facing Real Madrid in the second leg which will be played at Real Madrid proud stadium. Real Madrid's chances of qualifying for the next round are very big, they have two assets ahead of the second leg that are ready to take them to the next phase. Playing at their home ground and having the advantage in the first leg means that Real Madrid does not have the slightest pressure in the second leg, Real Madrid will try to calm down the next match in order to achieve the targets that have been set since the start of the season.

It is clear that Leipzig will find it difficult to turn things around and it will be difficult for them to create a surprise at the Santiago Bernabeu. It's true, Madrid now has valuable capital, namely the aggregate goals in the first leg, however, Ancelotti must warn his squad not to underestimate Leipzig in the second leg. On paper, Madrid can easily reach the quarter finals, so far their performance is still very stable in every competition. The busy match schedule is not a big problem, and the loss of defensive players due to injury can be handled very well by Ancelotti.

I predict that there will be lots of goals scored in the second leg, Madrid will be very difficult for a team like Leipzig to beat. There is indeed a possibility of a draw, but I tend to believe that Madrid will win. Bellingham injury is not a big problem to face a team like Leipzig, Brahim Diaz managed to take the role of replacing him well. I think that when it comes to player rotation, Ancelotti is truly a genius, his various experiments are running perfectly.

Leipzig should have already known that losing to Real Madrid was unavoidable. Sure there has been upsets before in football, but the fact that City is the last years champions, even treble winners, should have been a good enough point for them to realize they are gone. Leipzig should just be happy that they have made it so far and that should be enough for them, not that they did badly so far neither. Just be at UCL again and again, thanks to their Bundesliga position, and just keep at it.

Eventually, they will build a team that will be good enough, and should be able to go for a title one day, maybe. This requires years and years of development, not just one thing, but they need to be consistently there all the time.

[armanda90]

Second batch Champion League knock out round  matches will play on the middle next week, there are have four matches and seems interested with Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid and Napoli vs Barcelona. First leg match very crucial how to make more comfortable on second leg match, I am very interested with Napoli vs Barcelona match because both teams have bad result in domestic league match.

Is there any possibility that inconsistent performance in the domestic league will have a significant impact on Champions League matches? Napoli last match defeated by AC Milan and Barcelona failed get three points against Granada as relegation team after being held to draw. Barcelona and Napoli have domestic league match before facing each other in Champion League match, will they make significant rotation and keep focus in Champion League first leg match?

• PSV vs Dortmund
• Inter vs Atletico
• Porto vs Arsenal
• Napoli vs Barcelona

[Coyster]

We are only halfway through the first leg of this round. Next week there are some really attracting games such as Inter - Atletico Madrid and Napoli - Barcelona.

These are really tough games, i think the both of them are the toughest games of this RO16 and really difficult to predict; imo, they are both 50-50 games with no favorites. Inter Milan are in great form this season, they are on the summit in the Seria A and are above Juventus with 7 points, Atletico Madrid are not doing too well in the La Liga this season, but i still think the match is 50-50, and it will be decided on fine margins.

Having said that, Barcelona are struggling this season, likewise Napoli, and this is why i said there are no favorites in this one, any team can win, and if i am to predict, i would say Napoli would progress to the QF at the expense of Barcelona.

[Ayers]

We are only halfway through the first leg of this round. Next week there are some really attracting games such as Inter - Atletico Madrid and Napoli - Barcelona.

I think both of these games are big candidates to be very competitive and lovely to watch. My favourite sides for these games are Inter and Napoli honestly. I don't think Inter would lose or draw with Atletico Madrid home while they are in a great shape. When it comes to the other game I don't like Barcelona at all this season. They are really weak at defending. This can be a good advantage for Napoli home together with Osimhen's return from AFCON. 

Barcelona defenders lack's communication this season and most times, I do see a player trying to show himself meanwhile, I'm aware he does nothing in that defense for Barcelona.
I hope they finally set him for a good price ams valuation and sell him for the right amount. Barcelona did good last season but couldn't go ahead with it this season. Damnit with them finances otherwise some good ins should have turned things around for them.

Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid would be interesting, I'd say Inter Milan and I want to see how they go through this very round. No predicts for Barcelona and Napoli, I just want to watch and see how the gane flows.

It's true that Barcelona's attack is a bit weak. They also conceded 3 goals against teams like Granada. However, Napoli's attack this season cannot be called strong. Napoli players have scored 32 goals in 23 Serie A matches. On the other hand, Barcelona scored 50 goals in 24 matches in La Liga. So I guess if Barcelona's defenders play well against Napoli then it won't be a difficult task for Barcelona to beat Napoli.

Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are both strong teams. Inter Milan are favorites in this match. Even then, it cannot be said that Inter Milan will win. Against Lazio we saw strong teams like Bayern Munich get beaten. So it is not surprising that Atletico Madrid won this match. I would say 50-50 for both teams to win this match.

[adultcrypto]

Regardless of the result Leipzig got against Real Madrid and lost the game with a 1-0 result, I think they are going to have days before the second leg. Leipzig will face Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga and after that, they should face with Bayern Munich which is not going to be easy for them next Bochum and just after that match Leipzig will play the second leg against Real Madrid for the second legend this is a good reason to bet on Real Madrid even winning the second leg easier than the first game.

Of a truth, RB Leipzig is actually in a very tight situation now if not the toughest moment of their life. They have line up of strong teams to face that require them to play their best squad without reserving any as the matches are top priorities with no exception.  

The problem now is if the players will be able to face the challenge without suffering from fatigue. We cannot also remove the possibility of injuries which will affect them badly.  If they are able to survive this period, then it will show they are prepared for the task ahead.

[len01]

-snip

Yes, even though Barcelona's performance is a little disappointing, and Napoli with their new coach has not shown promising performance, I see that both teams have more motivation to qualify for the next round, an interesting match to watch.
a very balanced match, both teams have a fairly balanced history, in my opinion there won't be many goals scored, the 1-0 score that Barcelona will win in the 2nd leg might be the deciding factor, or Napoli could give a surprise by eliminating Barcelona. , If this happens, it will be a bitter farewell for Xavi,

both teams have the same chance of qualifying from the round of 16, but it seems like I have a slightly different opinion this season.
maybe in the past, Barcelona could always beat Napoli in every meeting in competitions such as the UCL and the european league, but the conditions of these two teams are very different, not the same as last season and now it seems like Napoli has a bigger chance of qualifying because currently Napoli still has the same line up of players better quality than Barcelona.
I am not demeaning or underestimating Barcelona but in fact Barcelona players have experienced a decline in performance and on the one hand Barcelona players currently only rely on free players obtained from the transfer market even though some players can become scoring machines but Lewandowski doesn't seem to be as strong as before and some other players may also experience a fairly deep decline in performance.

meanwhile, Napoli currently still has Osimhen who is still a mainstay for scoring scores and I have to say that in this 16th round match, Barcelona had to accept defeat and could not continue the match until the final round.

[yudi09]

I think both of these games are big candidates to be very competitive and lovely to watch. My favourite sides for these games are Inter and Napoli honestly. I don't think Inter would lose or draw with Atletico Madrid home while they are in a great shape. When it comes to the other game I don't like Barcelona at all this season. They are really weak at defending. This can be a good advantage for Napoli home together with Osimhen's return from AFCON. 

Inter Milan can possibly win if they play at home. It is difficult for Napoli to see them achieve victory at home even though Barcelona has not been good this season.
Osimhen's return to the squad could provide good news to consider Napoli's possible victory against Barcelona.
I repeat again that Barcelona's strength is difficult to predict if they compete in the UEFA Champions League competition.

[Davian144]

Of a truth, RB Leipzig is actually in a very tight situation now if not the toughest moment of their life. They have line up of strong teams to face that require them to play their best squad without reserving any as the matches are top priorities with no exception.  

The problem now is if the players will be able to face the challenge without suffering from fatigue. We cannot also remove the possibility of injuries which will affect them badly.  If they are able to survive this period, then it will show they are prepared for the task ahead.

In the Champions League, it is natural for each team to field all of their best squads because remember that each team will also do the same thing in order to win. However, another problem for RB Leipzig in the second leg is their opponent, namely Real Madrid, who are generally very experienced in the Champions League and are also winning at RB Leipzig's home ground, although only by a narrow score. But the possibility for RB Leipzig to win more than that at home to Real Madrid will not be easy and this is also a difficulty that RB Leipzig will face.

[hyudien]

We are only halfway through the first leg of this round. Next week there are some really attracting games such as Inter - Atletico Madrid and Napoli - Barcelona.

These are really tough games, i think the both of them are the toughest games of this RO16 and really difficult to predict; imo, they are both 50-50 games with no favorites. Inter Milan are in great form this season, they are on the summit in the Seria A and are above Juventus with 7 points, Atletico Madrid are not doing too well in the La Liga this season, but i still think the match is 50-50, and it will be decided on fine margins.

Having said that, Barcelona are struggling this season, likewise Napoli, and this is why i said there are no favorites in this one, any team can win, and if i am to predict, i would say Napoli would progress to the QF at the expense of Barcelona.

I give Inter Milan a better chance of making it to the next round and beating Atletico Madrid in this round. But whether it will happen or not, only the meeting between the two will be able to answer all those questions, which is clear in the peluagn I see Inter Milan have a greater chance.
Now is their time to prove after they failed last season. Yes in appearance I prefer their appearance this season. They have a better squad and they have a strong performance and that is almost in all positions, from the back, center to the front. That's a good asset for them, so it's no surprise that they will be heavily favored in their encounter with Atletico Madrid in the round of 16.

[Dickiy]

-snip

Yes, even though Barcelona's performance is a little disappointing, and Napoli with their new coach has not shown promising performance, I see that both teams have more motivation to qualify for the next round, an interesting match to watch.
a very balanced match, both teams have a fairly balanced history, in my opinion there won't be many goals scored, the 1-0 score that Barcelona will win in the 2nd leg might be the deciding factor, or Napoli could give a surprise by eliminating Barcelona. , If this happens, it will be a bitter farewell for Xavi,

both teams have the same chance of qualifying from the round of 16, but it seems like I have a slightly different opinion this season.
maybe in the past, Barcelona could always beat Napoli in every meeting in competitions such as the UCL and the european league, but the conditions of these two teams are very different, not the same as last season and now it seems like Napoli has a bigger chance of qualifying because currently Napoli still has the same line up of players better quality than Barcelona.
I am not demeaning or underestimating Barcelona but in fact Barcelona players have experienced a decline in performance and on the one hand Barcelona players currently only rely on free players obtained from the transfer market even though some players can become scoring machines but Lewandowski doesn't seem to be as strong as before and some other players may also experience a fairly deep decline in performance.

meanwhile, Napoli currently still has Osimhen who is still a mainstay for scoring scores and I have to say that in this 16th round match, Barcelona had to accept defeat and could not continue the match until the final round.

The decline in performance experienced by Barcelona will be of greater concern to Napoli, so that they can take over their advantage on the field. I also have a little doubt that Barcelona in this Leg 1 meeting if they lose points then Leg 2 will be a tougher challenge. Based on this season's performance in La Liga, Xavi is required to be more alert. The opponents they face in the UCL have big ambitions a striker like Osimhen can overwhelm Barcelona defense, plus today Barcelona is faced with the position of an injured player which could have bad consequences.

Today Xavi troops will face Celta Vigo in La Liga so they need to divide up several players so that the rotation against Napoli will have the right reserves. We'll see that Napoli can definitely give a different result based on head to head with Barcelona it's only 3/4, meaning this week's match could be an opportunity for Napoli to make it 4/4.

[Jegileman]

Regardless of the result Leipzig got against Real Madrid and lost the game with a 1-0 result, I think they are going to have days before the second leg. Leipzig will face Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga and after that, they should face with Bayern Munich which is not going to be easy for them next Bochum and just after that match Leipzig will play the second leg against Real Madrid for the second legend this is a good reason to bet on Real Madrid even winning the second leg easier than the first game.

Leipzig really have a tough schedule ahead of them and with the look of things their second leg will be more tougher for them than the first leg which they lost to Real Madrid with one goal. Before the second leg match of the Champions League, the league matches they have are also not easy ones for them and they need to use their best squads and be in good form to be able to win those matches. It can only take the grace of God and luck for them to win all of this fixtures and that of the champions league second leg match.

They have not proven as a team to be that weak, but with a lot of back to back vigorous match, the players will become worn out and can easily get fatigue which will lead to underperformance in some of those matches. I don’t know how they can pass through this easily, but a good coach that can employ a good strategy can help them out or help reduce the pressure it will come with.

[Leviathan.007]

Yes, even though Barcelona's performance is a little disappointing, and Napoli with their new coach has not shown promising performance, I see that both teams have more motivation to qualify for the next round, an interesting match to watch.
a very balanced match, both teams have a fairly balanced history, in my opinion there won't be many goals scored, the 1-0 score that Barcelona will win in the 2nd leg might be the deciding factor, or Napoli could give a surprise by eliminating Barcelona. , If this happens, it will be a bitter farewell for Xavi,

Napoli hasn't been in their very best form and I would say they are not real looking promising a d same goes to Barcelona aswell but then if we are to see osimhen in the Napoli line up then I can be sure to see surprises surfacing but in the man's time I can't exercise certainty with any of both teams.

Xavi and his boys has always had to concede goals in their domestic league games recently and has not been in the best of their performance and this has made me doubt if they will be able to comfortably get a win over Napoli especially with the fact that they will be hosted by Napoli, they have not been really good with away games in recent times so I see it as it could be challenging for them because even in the weakness of Napoli they still will not want to just loose especially as this is champions league and not any other of their regular domestic league.

Both teams Barcelona and Napoli are not in the good form and both teams are far from what we saw from them in the last season. While Napoli and Barcelona won the title of the league in the last season but currently they are not in good form at all and even Xavi's place is totally in danger in Barcelona to make him move. This is maybe a good reason to say Napoli is going to have an easier game than Barcelona and they can even beat Barcelona in this match.

[AakZaki]

Andriy Lunin made many crucial saves last night and helped Rea Madrid won the first leg match after one goal scored by Brahim Diaz, actually is not really comfortable winning position for Real Madrid behind one goals not enough yet for second leg match although will play at home match. Real Madrid's defensive very poor last night with Nacho and Aurélien Tchouaméni not impressive well but Andriy Lunin must be man of the match last night match.
~snip~

I didn't see it live, but I watched the match recap. Lunin did very well, a good performance that saved Madrid. I recorded more than 3 great saves from Lunin. But I saw there was also an Offside debate. It was Benjamin Sesko's goal that was deemed offside. If you look back, he should have been onside. This means that the goal was valid. But it was wrong that there was a foul on Lunin first. So the goal was invalid not because of Offside.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Yes, even though Barcelona's performance is a little disappointing, and Napoli with their new coach has not shown promising performance, I see that both teams have more motivation to qualify for the next round, an interesting match to watch.
a very balanced match, both teams have a fairly balanced history, in my opinion there won't be many goals scored, the 1-0 score that Barcelona will win in the 2nd leg might be the deciding factor, or Napoli could give a surprise by eliminating Barcelona. , If this happens, it will be a bitter farewell for Xavi,

Napoli hasn't been in their very best form and I would say they are not real looking promising a d same goes to Barcelona aswell but then if we are to see osimhen in the Napoli line up then I can be sure to see surprises surfacing but in the man's time I can't exercise certainty with any of both teams.

Xavi and his boys has always had to concede goals in their domestic league games recently and has not been in the best of their performance and this has made me doubt if they will be able to comfortably get a win over Napoli especially with the fact that they will be hosted by Napoli, they have not been really good with away games in recent times so I see it as it could be challenging for them because even in the weakness of Napoli they still will not want to just loose especially as this is champions league and not any other of their regular domestic league.

Both teams Barcelona and Napoli are not in the good form and both teams are far from what we saw from them in the last season. While Napoli and Barcelona won the title of the league in the last season but currently they are not in good form at all and even Xavi's place is totally in danger in Barcelona to make him move. This is maybe a good reason to say Napoli is going to have an easier game than Barcelona and they can even beat Barcelona in this match.

I agree with you that these  two teams are out of sync this season. However, I consider Barcelona as  favorites in this match.
Barcelona's overall performance is better than Napoli's. Napoli's  attack and defense are  both weak. On the other  hand, although Barcelona's performance is erratic, this team cannot  be called weak. Their main weakness is  their defense. If Xavi can tighten up Barcelona's defense in this match, victory against Napoli is possible. However, if  Barcelona's defenders  perform badly in this match as in the previous  matches, then Barcelona may not be able  to win. But my guess is that Barcelona will  either win the match or the match will be a draw. Napoli doesn't look  like my favorite to win.