CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Barcelona possible starting XI against Napoli in the Champions League
Xavi Hernández will likely go 4-4-2, keeping faith in Lamine and Lewandowski to come away with a first leg advantage against the Serie A team.
Barcelona return to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 two seasons later. In recent years, luck, some would say, which placed them in tough groups with European champions like Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Benfica, along with a sizeable dose of poor sporting and management abilities, has led them down the path into the Europa League. Even in the second-largest continental competition, they failed to perform well, falling to average Eintracht Frankfurt and Manchester United teams in the round of 16 and round of 32, respectively. Next stop Naples.
On Wednesday go up against Napoli, a team they faced the last time they competed in the Champions League knockout stage, and neither side is having a great campaign. That previous encounter was also in the round of 16, and Barça advanced, preceding the infamous 2-8 defeat against Bayern under Flick. However, the two met more recently than that, in the 2021/22 Europa League round of 32, with good memories for Xavi and his team, who secured a 2-4 victory at the Maradona Stadium to advance.
The man with the whistle for Napoli-Barça
Xavi to adopt Barcelona 4-4-2
Today, the coach of the Catalan team will likely opt for a 4-4-2 formation – despite a somewhat misleading image above – with Ter Stegen commanding the goal and reverting to four midfielders. Christensen should act as a pivot alongside Frenkie de Jong, allowing more freedom to Gündogan and Pedri. In defense, Xavi relies on the experience of Íñigo Martínez and the leadership of Ronald Araujo to contain Osimhen, with Koundé, tasked with stopping the talented Kvaratskhelia, and Cancelo on the flanks. This all means that Pau Cubarsí, who has been a recent starter, will have to wait a little longer for his debut in Europe’s biggest competition. Vitor Roque will also start on the bench, eager to make his debut as a Barça player in Europe.
Xavi will once again entrust the young Lamine Yamal, a rare bright spot in the season, with responsibility, who must shine on a big European night as a leader of this Barcelona team, alongside Robert Lewandowski, who with eight goals in 12 matches in 2024, aims to regain the form that once made him the best ‘9′ in the world.