Napoli vs Barcelona 08/08/19

8 August 2019

Napoli and Barcelona will face-off at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami for a friendly, which will be the Catalans final pre-season game ahead of the 2019-20 La Liga campaign.

Interestingly, both of their previous H2H meetings in the 21st century have not seen both teams score, with both sides registering one win apiece.

Although Napoli started their preparations for the new season off on the wrong foot, suffering a 2-1 loss to Benevento, Carlo Ancelotti’s players have improved their performance throughout the summer. The Blues have racked up a four-game unbeaten run in the build-up to this clash (W3, D1), with all three of those wins being accompanied by a clean sheet. What’s more, the Partenopei have found the net in the first 45 minutes in all of those four games, scoring over 2.5 match goals on three occasions in the process. Importantly, they have outplayed both of their high-profile rivals this summer, beating Liverpool 3-0 before securing a narrow 1-0 triumph over Marseille.

Meanwhile, the Catalans have featured in three summer friendlies so far, with two of those games ending with the same 2-1 scoreline (W1, L1). After sustaining loss to Chelsea at the beginning of their summer preparations, the Blaugrana have managed to beat both subsequent rivals, Vissel Kobe and Arsenal, netting precisely two goals per match although failing to take the lead before the break on both occasions. Barcelona’s recent games have provided the fans with excitement, with four of their last five matches producing over 2.5 goals and seeing both teams score. A potential worry for Ernesto Valverde could be that his players have struggled to keep a clean sheet in six of their previous eight outings, allowing 2+ match goals five times along the way.