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After three long years, Barcelona will play a UEFA Champions League knockout match in Catalonia today. Facing Napoli in the second leg of the round of 16, they will be slight favorites to advance given they have home field advantage that night.
The first leg of the tie ended in a 1-1 draw at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, much to the dismay of Xavi, whose team dominated the match for most of it.
Now suffering from some serious injuries ahead of the second leg, progress is easier said than done.
Possible setbacks
There will be no love lost when the defending Spanish and Italian league champions meet later today.
A grueling clash awaits Barcelona, and the fact that three players are one yellow card away from being suspended becomes critical.
Ronald Araujo, Joao Félix and Sergi Roberto are one yellow card away from missing the next match of the tournament.
That is, if any of the three were cautioned against Naples, they would be suspended for the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, as long as Barça qualifies.
However, given what depends on tonight’s outcome, we can be sure that the players will not resort to a cautious attitude despite being aware of the sanction.
In fact, any suspension will only matter if Barcelona advances to the quarterfinals. However, losing a player like Araujo for the potential knockout match would be a tough blow.
Two starting on the bench?
Ronald Araujo, who served a one-match suspension in La Liga during Barcelona’s clash against Mallorca, is a guaranteed starter for the match against Napoli. He is likely to partner Pau Cubarsi, although Íñigo Martínez also has a good chance of starting.
Joao Félix’s position in the starting eleven will depend entirely on the formation Xavi makes that night. With Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski guaranteed in the squad, the Portuguese also face competition from Raphinha and Vitor Roque for a starting spot.
Meanwhile, Roberto, who despite being the main candidate to play in midfield, could be lost due to his lack of match fitness.