((STREAMS>)) Napoli vs Barcelona Live Broadcast Free 21 February 2024 Today
Napoli vs Barcelona live stream: How to watch Champions League last 16 online. Napoli and Barcelona are set to square off against each other in a Champions League round of 16 first-leg fixture at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday.
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Napoli and Barcelona will hope a return to Champions League action can bring a change in fortunes.
We're approaching half-time in the two-legged Champions League last 16 ties with Napoli vs Barcelona on Wednesday a fascinating contest between two big hitters who swept all before them last season domestically but are struggling this term. Serie A winners vs La Liga champions, it's not to be missed — and you can watch Napoli vs Barcelona live streams from anywhere
Napoli vs Barcelona live stream, Date, Time, Channels
Napoli vs Barcelona live streams will be available on Wednesday, Feb. 21.
Time: 8 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT / 7 a.m. AEDT (Feb. 22)
U.S. — Watch on Paramount Plus
U.K. — Watch on TNT Sports
Watch anywhere
You know things are bad when it's the day before a Champions League last 16 first leg and your new manager has only just put his highlighters and coffee cup on the desk. That's the situation right now at Napoli, with Walter Mazzarri, who only replaced Rudi Garcia in November, sacked on Monday night after the weekend 1-1 draw with Genoa. Francesco Calzona, a former Little Donkeys assistant coach and current Slovakia coach, is the club's third manager of a season that has the defending Serie A champions languishing in ninth place.
Barcelona have also struggled to back up last season's domestic title victory. The 2022/23 La Liga winners sit third in Spain behind runaway league leaders Real Madrid and surprise package Girona, los Cules' up-and-down form and the unique pressures of managing the Catalan giants taking their toll on Xavi to the point the legendary former midfielder will step down as manager at the end of the season. Robert Lewandowski has found some recent form with four goals in his last three games, but it's 16-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal – the latest La Masia graduate – who most quickens pulses.
Last year's Serie A and La Liga winners are both trailing in their respective domestic campaigns, as Napoli and Barcelona advanced to the knockouts of the European top flight as runners-up in Group C and Group H winners, respectively.
Nigeria international Victor Osimhen would have recovered from his exploits at the Africa Cup of Nations to reclaim his spot from Giovanni Simeone, with Juan Jesus returning from a Serie A ban.
Francesco Calzona has also recovered from his knock to be rendered available for selection. Meanwhile, the outbound Piotr Zielinski has been left out of the squad, while all of Pasquale Mazzocchi, Cyril Ngonge and Hamed Traore are included.
Barca boss Xavi will be void of the services of Alejandro Balde, Gavi, Marcos Alonso, Sergi Roberto and Ferran Torres due to injuries, while Joao Felix is a doubt with an ankle problem.
January signing Vitor Roque can make his Champions League bow with the Spanish side alongside Robert Lewandowski and 16-year-old Lamine Yamal.
Barcelona picked up a victory on February 17 against RC Celta de Vigo with a final score of 2-1. Barcelona took 12 shots in the game, equal to the total taken by Celta de Vigo.
Napoli drew 1-1 at home with Genoa CFC in its last game on February 17, while outshooting Genoa CFC 26 to six. Napoli’s Cyril Ngonge scored its only goal (on five shots) in the match.
Xavi Hernandez's long goodbye continues to be the main story for Barcelona with his side unlikely to retain their La Liga title in 2024. Napoli are well off the pace in their own bid to defend a domestic crown with an incredible 33-point gap to leaders Inter Milan.
Barcelona are without forward pair Ferran Torres and Joao Felix through injury. Ilkay Gundogan is set to return, after coming off the bench in the 2-1 weekend La Liga win at Celta Vigo, with Vitor Roque in line for a Champions League debut.
Walter Mazzarri will make a late call on star striker Victor Osimhen with the Nigerian international not featuring since his return from Africa Cup of Nations. Barcelona are unbeaten in their last four games with Napoli winning just one of their last four in a contrast in domestic consistency. If Barcelona take advantage of Napoli's poor form, they have a real chance to reach the quarterfinals, and lessen the impact of their La Liga struggles. The two sides meet in Italy tonight, in the first leg of the last-16 tie, with confidence not particularly high in either camp.
Napoli sit ninth in Serie A, mounting a dreadful defence of the title they won last season, though they were comfortable enough in finishing second behind Real Madrid in Group C to progress in Europe.
Barcelona will already have one eye on next season, after Xavi announced he will be standing down as manager in the summer. They are eight points off the pace in the LaLiga title race, and needed a last gasp winner from Robert Lewandowski to scrape past Celta Vigo over the weekend.
The last meeting between Napoli and Barcelona in Naples took place in February 2022 for the Europa League. Barcelona managed to win with a final score of 4-2. The goals for the culés were scored by Jordi Alba, Frenkie de Jong, Gerard Piqué and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, while Lorenzo Insigne and Matteo Politano scored for the visitors.
The match was characterized by Barcelona's dominance in the final three quarters of the field, where they managed to take advantage of their scoring opportunities effectively. Despite this, possession of the ball was very even in general, showing a balanced confrontation in that aspect. However, it was Barcelona who demonstrated greater precision in the execution of passes, which allowed them to control a large part of the game and take the victory in this match.
In the Blaugrana team, the outstanding figure is Lamine Yamal, a right winger who is only 16 years old. During this season, Yamal has left his mark on the field of play with Barcelona, participating in a total of 35 games. In those games, he has scored 5 goals and contributed 7 assists. In the Champions League, Yamal has also left his mark, providing an assist in the match against Antwerp. His versatility and outstanding skills in dribbling, passing and scoring ability make him an invaluable player for the team.
On the visiting team, the player who has stood out is Victor Osimhen, the 25-year-old Nigerian striker. During this season, Osimhen has participated in 18 games, leaving his mark with 8 goals and 3 assists, which reflects an average of 1 goal every 164 minutes on the pitch. In the Champions League, he contributed with a goal in the match against Braga. In addition to his goals, Osimhen stands out for his contribution to the team game, registering an average of 127 accurate passes per game and recovering 24 balls.
FC Barcelona's football season has been disappointing for the club's followers. The team has not managed to win any local title this campaign, and its performance in La Liga has been barely average, finding itself in third place with 16 wins, 6 draws and 3 losses.
The lack of results has generated discontent among fans, and as a consequence, coach Xavi Hernández has announced his resignation at the end of the season. Furthermore, FC Barcelona faces a crisis in the Champions League, as it has not managed to advance beyond the group stage since the 2020-21 season.
In their most recent La Liga match, Barcelona achieved a tight 2-1 away victory against Celta Vigo, thanks to an agonizing penalty goal converted by Lewandowski at the end of the match. However, this victory has not dispelled doubts about the team's performance, which continues to generate uncertainty among its followers.
Regarding their participation in the Champions League, Barcelona suffered a defeat when visiting Antwerp, falling 3-2 in a match in which they apparently had control, but lacked effectiveness in defining plays.
Napoli is immersed in a crisis that contrasts with its outstanding performance in Serie A last year, when they were crowned champions. This season, however, the outlook is completely different, with two coaching changes already made and a level of play that is far from what was shown in his moment of glory.