Napoli drew with Genoa at the weekend's Serie A fixture, disappointing supporters once again and dropping to ninth. Spain, on the other hand, look set to have another bitter night as they host Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League. Since Luciano Spalletti's departure, the hosts have been in shambles, winning just one of their last five matches, including six in a row at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Barcelona, who seem to be in trouble this season, are eight points off leaders Real Madrid and the dream of the La Liga title seems out of reach. However, their recent form has picked up and their focus has shifted to the Champions League in their quest to excel in this area. The Catalan giants have won three of their last four matches and drawn one, winning four of their last five away matches. They last met Napoli in the knockout stages of the Europa League in 2021 22 and won 4-2 away. So, I'm going to add another win to Wednesday's game.
However, Barcelona have conceded in their last 12 away matches, so they can't be expected to keep a clean sheet in their last nine matches. The third game was won 2-1, which looked like a solid correct score**.