Napoli v Barcelona

Napoli vs Barcelona Preview

Napoli were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Genoa in the Italian top flight action over the weekend and results overall in all competitions have been quite inconsistent where Walter Mazzarri's side have been concerned as the hosts have managed to collect just three wins from their last 11 games overall, while Barcelona picked up a third win in four games when they registered a 2-1 win away from home at Celta Vigo in La Liga on Saturday.

Wins against Salernitana, Fiorentina and Verona on the domestic stage have been the hosts' only highlights in recent times as Napoli have also been handed five defeats and drawn the other three games within their last 11-game period but qualification to the knockout stage of this season's Champions League proved to be fairly straightforward.

Napoli finished runners-up in Group C but ended up eight points behind the group winners, Real Madrid, but nevertheless, Napoli ensured their progress in this competition by way of home and away wins against Portuguese outfit Sporting Braga along with a 1-0 win away from home at Union Berlin.

Form and results on home soil in the Champions League has been pretty solid though as Napoli have slipped to just one defeat out of their previous 16 home ties, picking up 10 wins in the process, while goals could also feature as nine of these 16 home ties have also resulted in both teams scoring.

Barcelona will also have reason to be confident and upbeat about their chances here at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday night as the Spanish club have won three out of their last four games overall, collecting important wins in La Liga against the likes of Osasuna, Alaves and Celta Vigo in 1-0, 3-1 and 2-1 victories respectively.

The bigger picture shows Xavi's side have lost just three out of their last 12 matches in all competitions and along with winning eight of these games, no fewer than 10 of these last 12 matches have also resulted in both teams hitting the back of the net as well which seems to bode well for the goals market in Wednesday night's 1st leg clash.

Barcelona narrowly edged out Portuguese side Porto for a top spot finish in Group H of the group stage in the Champions League by virtue of beating runners-up Porto in both home and away ties along with recording wins against Antwerp and Shakhtar Donetsk.

However, results away from home on the Champions League front have left a lot to be desired for Barcelona as the Spanish visitors have lost five out of their last seven away ties.

Napoli v Barcelona Verdict

Goals for both sides looks the most likely outcome here as five of the last six meetings have resulted in both teams scoring.

Therefore, our main bet will be BTTS Yes @ 1.61

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 3.60

Correct Score: 1-1 @ 6.50