With two big games in Italy and Portugal, the first matches of the “16” phase of the Champions League!
The match that attracts attention for many different reasons is hers Naples with the Barcelona in “Diego Armando Maradona”. Two teams, who last season won the championship in their country, but this year the situation on both sides it is dramatic. Initially, who would have thought that the “Partenopei” would be in this position they are in after last year’s dream year with the conquest of the scudetto? The team from the Italian south is in 9th place in Serie A with 36 points and at -28 (!) from the leader, Inter, while the nine points that separate them from the top four seem to be difficult to cover.
After the departure of Luciano Spalletti in the summer, the coaching changes they don’t say to stop in Naples. Rudy Garcia never looked like he could help, his replacement for Walter Mazzarri going nowhere, with the 62-year-old a thing of the past after last week’s 1-1 home draw with Genoa, as announced by Aurelio De Laurentis through social media! At the end of the bench for the match with the “Blaugrana” will be o Francesco Calzonawho has recently joined the team as an assistant to Maurizio Sarri and Luciano Spalletti.
On the other hand, Barcelona he is not in such a difficult position, but the problems do not cease to be absent. The Spanish La Liga champions are -8 behind leaders Real Madrid and know that a place in the Champions League quarter-finals can brings smiles after the bad course so far. Xavi, who is expected to leave at the end of the season, saw his side to a 2-1 victory over Celta and he will be hoping for a similar performance in today’s match to take a qualification advantage ahead of the second leg. The Spanish coach cannot count on Balde, Gavi, Marcos Alonso and Ferran Torres, while Joao Felix is a doubt.
“I will be honest. I see other teams with more potential and experience. But if we qualify for the quarter-finals we enter a special stage. Who would have expected Inter to reach the final last year? I’m a realist, but I also know it’s hard for everyone“, were his words Gundogan to a question he received about whether Barcelona are capable of lifting the cup with the “big ears”.
In the other game of the evening, Porto and Arsenal they will compete against Portugal and “Dragão”. The home team after the two big series losses (0-0 at home to Rio Ave and 3-2 defeat by Aruca) returned to winning in the league, beating Estrella Amadora 2-0. The two goals were scored by Galeno and Joao Mariowith the “dragons” being at -7 from the leader, Sporting Lisbon, with their task in the league having been quite difficult.
THE Sergio Conceição he doesn’t count Ivan Marcao and Zaidou out for today’s game, while Mehdi Taremi remains a doubt, with the 49-year-old coach knowing his team is the underdog, but maybe that’s for the best, since they have nothing to lose and will fight for the surprise.
On the opposite bank, Arsenal, is in excellent form at a particularly crucial time of the year, counting five consecutive wins in the Premier League with a total of 21-2 goals! Last Saturday (17/02) they destroyed Burnley at home with 5-0 against Edgard, Trossard, Haverge and Saka to be the scorers, with the English midfielder scoring two goals.
The English team is in 2nd place in the standings and -2 behind Liverpool, while against Porto they are the big favourites, knowing that with a qualification to the quarter-finals everything is then open. THE Mikel Arteta he cannot count Partei, Timber, Zinchenko, while Jesus, Vieira and Tomiyasu are doubtful.
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
