Napoli vs Barcelona: Uefa Champions League prediction, tickets, TV, live stream, head to head, team news

Barcelona are aiming to shake off their recent Uefa Champions League disappointments as they begin their knocout stage journey with a trip to Naples tonight.

Barca won this competition five years ago, and time is running out for Lionel Messi to lift the famous trophy once more as Quique Setien prepares to lead the Spanish giants to glory amid the recent controversy englufing the club.

Disastrous knockout exits to AS Roma and Liverpool over the past two seasons will be playing on the minds of Blaugrana players and fans alike, but despite the absence of Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele, there is always a chance with Messi fit and firing.

Gennaro Gattuso's Napoli stand between Barca and a place in the quarter-finals, and the Spanish champions will have to be on their toes against a side who took four points off of Liverpool in the group stages.

Date: February 25, 2020

Venue: Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy

Kick-off time: 8pm GMT

Prediction: Napoli 1-1 Barcelona

This is a new challenge for both Setien and Gattuso, who take charge of their first Champions League games as coaches.

Napoli have been in decent form and will fancy their chances against a Barca side who haven't travelled well this season, though the visitors should take at least one away goal back to Camp Nou where they will be confident of victory.

Tickets

Click here for more information from Napoli's official website.

How to watch

TV channel: The match will be televised live on BT Sport 3, with coverage starting from 7.15pm.

Live stream: BT Sport subscribers will be able to stream the match online via the video player and the BT Sport app.

Head to head (H2H) history and results

The teams have yet to face each other in an official Uefa competition, but Barca have a mixed record in Italy of late.

The Blaugrana beat Inter Milan 2-1 back in the group stages in December, and also sealed a 1-1 draw against the Nerazzurri in last season's group stages.

However, AS Roma stunned Barca with a 3-0 win in the Italian capital to knock the Spaniards out of the 2017/18 quarter-finals - and Juventus won by the same scoreline in the previous year's quarters.

Betting Odds

• Napoli to win: 12/5

• Barcelona to win: 11/8

• Draw: 13/5

Odds provided by Betfair Exchange. Click here for more odds.

Team news

Barcelona have lost Sergi Roberto to injury. The Catalan club revealed on Sunday that the midfielder, who usually plays at right-back, is out for three to four weeks with a thigh injury.

New signing Martin Braithwaite, who made a bright debut in the 5-0 win over Eibar in LaLiga on Sunday, is included in the travelling squad despite the fact he is ineligible for the Champions League.

Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele remain sidelined.

Barcelona squad: Ter Stegen, Semedo, Piqué, Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Arthur, Messi, Neto, Lenglet, Griezmann, Braithwaite (unavailable), De Jong, Vidal, Umtiti, Junior, Iñaki Peña, Riqui Puig, Alex Collado, Ansu Fati, Ronald Araujo, Sergio Akieme.

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