With the Spanish league title race slipping through their fingers like sand, Barcelona set their sights on European redemption as they travel to face Napoli in the first leg of their Champions League meeting in the Round of 16.

Xavi’s side have dropped a full eight points back of leaders Real Madrid in the La Liga standings, leading the boss to announce his impending departure at the end of the season. Even in victory, the optics around the club have been toxic all year, with Robert Lewandowski slipping in form and the squad suffering injuries ad nauseam.

The Champions League knockout stage, thus, represents a clean slate of sorts, allowing Barca to start fresh and attempt to chase European notoriety they have seen become scarce in recent years. The Catalan giants have not reached the final since 2015, advancing past the quarterfinals just once since then as well.

Serie A opponents Napoli are suffering a similar regression, falling painfully back to Earth after last year’s magical Scudetto run. They have slumped to ninth in the Italian top flight, winning just seven times compared to nine defeats in 20 total matches since the start of November.

USA: Click here to see the latest odds for Barcelona vs Napoli and bet Champions League matches

Barcelona vs Napoli prediction, odds

• Moneyline lean: Barcelona (+160)
• Score prediction: Napoli 0-1 Barcelona

Through the first half of the season, Napoli were far worse at home than on the road this season. Two of their three Champions League group stage victories came away from the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, and just two of their seven league victories in 2023 were in front of the home fans.

It’s been better as the calendar turns to 2024, but only just. They have three wins in all competitions in the new year, but two of them have come by narrow 2-1 scorelines against relegation-caliber opponents. Meanwhile, they played to draws with mid-table sides Monza and Genoa at the Maradona.

For whatever reason, Napoli just cannot seem to produce results at home this season, and will need to keep it close just to have a chance for the return leg in Spain.

Barcelona vs Napoli match facts

• Date: Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024
• Kickoff Time: 9 p.m. local (3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT)
• Location: Diego Armando Maradona Stadium (Naples, Italy)
• Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER), VAR: Bastian Dankert (GER)
• Last meeting: Napoli 2-4 Barcelona (Feb. 24, 2022 | Europa League)

Barcelona vs Napoli best bet

Both sides will be eager to get back to Spain with the match intact, often the reason why first legs can be somewhat slower.

Yet there are further reasons why plus odds on the under are good value. From a Barcelona perspective, Robert Lewandowski is having a putrid season far below his own expectations. Not only is he finishing at a poor rate, but his influence on matches is dwindling, averaging below four shots per 90 minutes for the first time in a decade.

Ferran Torres was picking up much of the slack, but he has gone down with an injury, and Raphinha is only just back from one himself. Vitor Roque has exploded onto the scene but is still young and unproven, leaving the only true steady attacking presence as 16-year-old Lamine Yamal.

For Napoli, Victor Osimhen may not yet be ready to start after a taxing AFCON journey which fell just short of the goal, and Giovanni Simeone has been poor in his absence. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has regressed this season, with just one goal contribution in his last 10 matches across all competitions.

Barcelona vs Napoli prop bet

• Pick: Barcelona to win 2H
• Odds: +185 (DraftKings)

Barcelona this season have been a heavily skewed second-half team all year long. They have scored a massive 71 percent of their 52 La Liga goals after the break, including 30 after the hour mark and a league-high 20 in the final 15 minutes. Meanwhile, 66 percent of the 34 goals they’ve coughed up in La Liga play came prior to halftime.

Napoli, meanwhile, should be happy to oblige. They have conceded 61 percent of their 33 goals in league play this season in the second half, while conceding second-half goals in four of their six Champions League group games. In fact, the only games they didn’t concede a second-half goal were the two in which they kept a clean sheet, on the road against Union Berlin and at home against Braga.

Barcelona vs Napoli live stream, TV channel

In the United States, the entirety of the 2023/24 Champions League knockout stage will be streamed by CBS Sports on Paramount+.

Additionally, this Champions League first-leg match in the Round of 16 has also been selected for television broadcast on CBS Sports Nework, and Spanish-language broadcast on TUDN and UniMas. All three channels are available to stream on Fubo, while ViX is also a live streaming option for Spanish-language viewers.

The broadcast rights for the Champions League in Canada are owned exclusively by DAZN. In the UK, TNT Sports owns the rights to the UCL, placing this game on TNT Sports 2.