The FC Barcelona did their homework in the group stage of the Champions League
As a result, they entered as the top seed in the draw for the round of 16 of the best club competition at the continental level. The fate has crossed paths for Barça with Napoli, a rival they coincided with during a couple of tests in preseason. However, Carlo Ancelotti is no longer in charge of the Neapolitan side since Aurelio De Laurentiis, president of the San Paolo club, has chosen Gennaro Gattuso to take the reins of their project.
A team that, honestly, is disappointing this season. After finishing last season in second place in Serie A, it was expected that they could compete with Juventus and Inter Milan for the title in the domestic tournament. Nothing could be further from the truth, given that the delicate situation they are currently facing internally is greatly affecting their performance at a sporting level.
If Gattuso translates his game proposal from the bench, it is expected that Napoli will not prioritize ball possession as much as Ancelotti's teams have always characterized. Without having the ball, they will opt to reinforce their defensive system. Alex Meret will continue to be, in theory, the goalkeeper for the Neapolitans, backed in the central axis of the defense by Kalidou Koulibaly and Kōnstantinos Manōlas. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Nikola Maksimović, Mário Rui, and Sebastiano Luperto are other members of the Neapolitan defense, now that Faouzi Ghoulam and Elseid Hysaj are playing less than expected.
Piotr Zieliński, Allan Marques Loureiro, and Fabián Ruiz (a former Real Betis youth player who longs to play for Barça) will be, barring any last-minute surprises, the chosen ones to provide stability in the midfield (the first two) and bring magic to the engine room (referring to the Spanish international). Eljif Elmas, who arrived at San Paolo during the last summer transfer window from the Turkish Super League, will be another variant that Gattuso considers in his tactical disposition.
The biggest threat from Napoli is, by far, their offensive line. Arkadiusz Milik is having a sensational season and is the main reference in attack for the Neapolitan squad. Similarly, Dries Mertens, Hirving Lozano, Lorenzo Insigne, and 2 familiar faces from our league like José Callejón and Fernando Llorente make up a forward line that will try to break through the defensive structure of Ernesto Valverde's troops. The culés are the favorites in this Champions League clash, although they do not forget what happened in Rome (2018) and Anfield (2019).