Barcelona Vs. Napoli: De Jong, Pedri To Miss UCL Round Of 16 Clash

Barcelona will be without the midfield duo of De Jong and Pedri as they take on Napoli in their Champions League Round of 16 tie.

Robert Lewandowski gave Barca a deserved lead during the first leg in Naples and Xavi’s side missed a host of chances prior to the Poland superstar scoring with an hour played.

That left the door ajar for the reigning Serie A champions and Victor Osimhen equalised with 15 minutes remaining.

Barca’s defence of their LaLiga crown is all but over, with Real Madrid surging clear.

Xavi will be keen to ensure they go deep into the Champions League knockout rounds in his final season at the helm, but has some key injury absences to work around.

Barcelona are synonymous with sparkling midfield creators, not least their head coach but Xavi is without a host of players who play the game in his image, with Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Gavi all out.

Marcos Alonso and Alejandro Balde are defensive absentees but Ronald Araujo is back after sitting out the win over Mallorca due to suspension.

Raphinha was withdrawn during that game but is expected to be in the match day squad along with Ferran Torres.

Francesco Calzona remains undefeated since taking charge as Napoli’s interim head coach. I Partenopei have drawn three and won two of the Slovakia boss’ games at the helm, including a 6-1 romp at Sassuolo.