Barcelona Looking for a Solid Result against Napoli in the First Leg
Barcelona will be looking to take home a good result that could make life easier in the second leg at home. The first meeting between Maradona's former team and Lionel Messi could turn out to be a cracker of a contest.
For Lionel Messi, this match could be extra special. Having been considered as the true heir to 'Diego Maradona', Lionel Messi will be playing for the first time in the stadium where the Great Argentinian made fairy tales come true. This is the house of 'Diego Armando Maradona', where it's time for Messi to script his fairy tales!
It's quite strange that Messi has never been able to visit the Stadio San Paolo in Naples. It's partly due to Napoli missing out in Champions League for some time and also the fixtures never had Barcelona paired with Napoli earlier. So tonight Messi checks another checkbox in the list of Iconic stadiums which witnessed his otherworldly talent. Will he be able to score at the Stadio San Paolo when two former teams of Maradona clashes?
With the second leg at home, Barcelona carries a huge advantage in the tie. That makes the task simpler for the squad. Don't make it complicated for the second leg. What we need is a solid performance that one of that flamboyant night in Europe. We all love one of those, but maybe the time is still not ripe to be extravagant away from home in Europe.
Thsi will be Setién's first taste of Champions League football with this team. That calls for a more conservative approach than usual. Even though Setién has ruled it out. In the press conference, he has urged his team to be brave. But then brave doesn't mean reckless. What he needs to make sure that the players pay their opponent the respect they deserve. No too afraid, not too reckless!
Setién: "We will go out with the intention of scoring an away goal, be it with more or less midfielders, we will not break our intention. We will try to be brave."
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) February 24, 2020
How will Setién Line-Up Barcelona against Napoli in Naples?
This has been the most talked topic in Barcelona fan circles in the last 24 hours. With Setién promising to be adventurous, many are quite confused about how Barcelona will line up? Here is my take on how Barcelona should line up.
I have already written why a 4-4-2 diamond looks a better option than a 4-3-3 especially away from home in Europe. We shouldn't get too carried away with the two home wins, especially the 5-0 on the weekend. This will be a tough match, and what Barcelona will need is to be solid in midfield.
Napoli will sit back and hit us on the counter. If Griezmann would be smart enough to drift wide to his left, he could stretch the pitch and a compact Napoli defense. Once again the key is to be more fluid, with Vidal, Messi, and Griezmann interchanging their positions.
Barcelona has announced a 20 men squad for this trip. Ter Stegen, Semedo, Piqué, Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Arthur, Messi, Neto, Lenglet, Griezmann, Braithwaite, De Jong, Vidal, Umtiti, Junior, Iñaki Peña, Riqui Puig, Alex Collado, Ansu Fati, Ronald Araujo and Sergio Akieme. The notable absentee is Sergi Roberto, who will be out of action for some four weeks.
[📋 THE SQUAD]
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 23, 2020
🗓 25/02 - 9pm CET
⚽ #NapoliBarça
🔵🔴 #ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/GKAN7lTyJe
Starting Firpo on the left is a huge risk, but with Roberto injured Setién is left with no option. If the Spaniard was available, he could have moved Semedo to left. Semedo has looked decent whenever he is asked to play the left-back. Apart from that, there are only two selection headaches for the coach. Who should pair with Pique and should Arthur start ahead of Rakitic.
What Barcelona needs is a solid performance away from home in Europe. We should spire to get that valuable away victory at least the all-important away goal. Being solid in middle will help a lot in achieving that goal. All eyes would be on Messi, who recently ended his goal drought.
Source: allaboutfcbarcelona.com
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