Can Barcelona Challenge for the Europa League This Season?
Barcelona are certainly in a state of transition right now, with Xavi having at least being given the opportunity to strengthen the squad now that the transfer embargo has been lifted. The club legend would dearly love to win some silverware after recently taking charge at Camp Nou and Barcelona betting odds illustrate that they’re among the Europa League outright favourites.
This is a trickier Europa League knockout stage than they might have anticipated, although Barca are certainly improved under Xavi and they are slight favourites to win this first leg clash. The key priority is for Barcelona to be part of the Champions League betting next season and it might therefore be that we see a rotated team for these sort of games.
Nevertheless, if Barcelona are able to achieve Europa League qualification at the hands of their Serie A title betting competitors, then they might be among the Europa League outright betting favourites and Xavi would like to have a trophy to commemorate his first season in charge before reshaping the squad.
Napoli Betting Favourites for Europa League Qualification
Napoli are chiefly concerned with winning the Scudetto this season, although the Azzurri are a side who could go deep in this UEFA competition if they are fully focused. Luciano Spalletti has taken a number of teams to the business end of the tournament over the past few years and the squad certainly has enough depth to challenge once again.
When it comes to the Europa League betting odds, Napoli are favourites to come through this knockout phase encounter and the trip to the Nou Camp will hold no fear for a side who look firmly on course to qualify for the 2022-23 Champions League next season.
Napoli have won eight of their twelve away matches and it’s been particularly notable that they run a tight ship on the road. Eight goals being conceded means that Barcelona could be running into brick walls if a first-choice rearguard has been deployed.
What Are the Best Bets for Barcelona v Napoli?
This is certainly a football fixture where Europa League team news is worth finding out before placing your online football bets. It’s possible that Barcelona and Napoli could field weakened teams for this clash and it really comes down to how much of a priority this competition is when the tie comes around.
Interestingly, the top football betting sites aren’t expecting this game to be high-scoring. The football bookmakers haven’t been too impressed by the Barcelona attack without Lionel Messi and there was also a departure of Antoine Griezmann after an ill-fated spell. Similarly, Under 2.5 Goals betting odds are worth checking out because the Napoli defence are so hard to beat.