FC Barcelona Versus Napoli Europa League Preview

FC Barcelona play their biggest game of the season so far when they take on Napoli in a Europa League play-off second leg tie at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Thursday.

Barca failed to put a litany of chances away when the two sides met at Camp Nou a week ago, with Ferran Torres moved to tears after the full time whistle such was his wastefulness in front of goal.

But the ex-Manchester City forward did score a penalty to level things 1-1, which means that it is honors even going into the Lions’ Den where head coach Xavi Hernandez expects to encounter a different opposition outfit than the one that played for a draw in Catalonia.

“We will have to dominate, Napoli will put pressure on us, it will be a very intense match, a football war. Whoever has the ball will have more numbers to win,” he predicted.

“It’s another revalidation, another final. We’re motivated that we can compete. It’s not the Champions League but it’s Europe. We don’t have to have complexes, we have to be ourselves. We’re progressing and this is the way,” Xavi also insisted.

Though it is no secret that the Blaugrana would perfect to be the UCL and not its inferior colleague, Xavi has admitted that failure to progress to the next round would be a “big disappointment”.

Coming off the back of an impressive 4-2 and 4-1 wins over reigning Champions Atletico Madrid and Valencia away from home in La Liga, however, the momentum is with the Catalans who have no big absences apart from the likes of Ansu Fati and Memphis Depay which have been known about for a while.

Charged with delivering victory on Italian soil is Marc-Andre ter Stegen supported by a backline of Jordi Alba, Ronald Araujo, Gerard Pique and Sergino Dest, who has worked himself back into Xavi’s good books after seeming he might be on his way out of the club.

In midfield, Pedri and Gavi continue a blossoming partnership with pivot support from captain Sergio Busquets. And on the front line, hat trick hero of the weekend Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the target man flanked by Ousmane Dembele and Adama Traore on each wing.

FC Barcelona First XI: Ter Stegen; Alba, Araujo, Pique, Dest; Pedri, Busquets, Gavi; Dembele, Aubameyang, Adama