In a winners take all UEFA Champions League round of 16, second leg match, former champions Barcelona host this season's dark horses Napoli. (More Football News)
Here's your essential read ahead of the crunch Barcelona vs Napoli UEFA Champions League match:
The tie resumes with 1-1 with Antoine Griezmann scoring the all-important equaliser for the five-time champions after Dries Mertens had sent Napoli into a first-half lead.
But that's all, as pundits would comment, citing the history and legacy, and a certain Lionel Messi. Both the sides have endured disappointments in their respective domestic league campaigns -- Barca relinquishing La Liga title to bitter rivals Real Madrid, while Napoli finishing a lowly seventh in Serie A. And the Champions League offers a chance to redeem
their respective seasons.
Barcelona, who last won the continental tournament in 2015, lost to eventual champions Liverpool in the semi-finals last season despite heading to Anfield with a 3-0 lead. Now they are 1-1 against Napoli.
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For the Italian side, this is a golden opportunity to produce their best performance yet. They have never gone past this stage, having beaten by Chelsea in 2012 and Real Madrid in 2017 in their last two last-16 ties.
Match details
What: UEFA Champions League, Round of 16, second leg
Who: Barcelona vs Napoli
Where: Camp Nou, Barcelona in Spain
When: Sunday, August 9 (in India)
Time: 00:30 am IST
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TV Telecast: SONY TEN 2/HD
Live Streaming: SonyLiv
The Sony network will show the other match between Bayern Munich and Chelsea, starting the same time. The first leg was won by the German side, 3-0.
Elsewhere...
USA: FuboTV, Sling TV, Galavision, Univision NOW, TUDN.com, TUDN App, CBS All Access, TUDNxtra, ZonaFutbol
Italy: SKY Go Italia, Canale 5, Sky Sport Uno, NOW TV, Sky Sport 252
France: RMC Sport 1, RMC Sport en direct
Australia: Optus Sport
Canada: DAZN
UK: BT Sport 2, BTSport.com, BT Sport App
Form and head-to-head
Both sides are undefeated in their last seven Champions League matches. And many believe that Napoli have a genuine chance to eliminate Barcelona. Nothing is straightforward for Quique Setien's Barca right now. Gennaro Gattuso's side showed their mettle, beating Liverpool 2-0 at home, then holding the Reds 1-1 away.
This will be their second meeting in the UEFA competitions after that first leg of this last-16 tie in Naples.
Team news
Barcelona are without suspended Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal. But Frenkie de Jong, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann are expected to feature in the team.
Napoli are likely to miss Kostas Manolas and mercurial forward Lorenzo Insigne who suffered a thigh injury in their last game of the Serie A season. But Kalidou Koulibaly is fit.
Likely XIs
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Roberto, Rakitic, De Jong; Messi, Suarez, Griezmann.
Napoli: Ospina; Hysaj, Di Lorenzo, Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Ruiz, Demme, Zielinski; Callejon, Mertens, Elmas.
