Napoli vs. Barcelona 2/24/22 UEFA Europa League Soccer Picks, Predictions, Odds

Barcelona and Napoli face off on Thursday in the second leg of their Group of 16 Europa League showdown at Stadio San Paolo. 

When these two teams last faced off last Thursday the two teams played to a 1-1 draw. Napoli opened up the scoring in the 29th minute but Barcelona answered with a penalty kick by Ferran Torres in the 59th minute. Barcelona really dominated most of the game, so they can’t feel great only picking up one goal.  Napoli does have the advantage of having that away goal, so if no goals are scored in this game, Napoli would advance. 

Napoli has played three straight games to a 1-1 draw. In the last game against Cagliari they fell behind, and it took a goal in the 87th minute by Victor Osimhen to even secure the draw. Napoli has scored 47 goals total while only giving up 18 goals in Serie A. Victor Osimhen and Dries Mertens have been the top two players for the squad, each scoring seven goals. There have been five players who have scored at least five goals. 

This hasn’t been as strong of a Barcelona team as years past, but it’s still a very strong squad. In the last game against Valencia, the offense put up four goals, and that was enough as they cruised to the three goal victory. Barcelona has scored 42 goals total while their defense has given up 28 goals total. Memphis Depay has been the top player so far this season scoring eight goals and adding two assists. 

Barcelona really dominated the last game, and the final score didn’t really show how well they played. In this game, I expect Barcelona to score a couple of goals, and that is going to be the difference as Barcelona gets the job done. Back Barcelona on the money line.