Barcelona vs Napoli 11/08/19

11 August 2019

Barcelona and Napoli will face-off at Michigan Stadium for a friendly meeting that will be their second H2H clash in less than three days. The Italian side will have revenge on their minds following a 2-1 loss back at midweek.

Three of the Catalans’ four summer friendlies have ended with the identical 2-1 scoreline (W2, L1), with Barca leading at the halftime break in none of those games. For the Blaugrana, most of the action this summer has taken part in the second half, with six of a total seven goals they’ve scored this pre-season coming in the second 45 minutes. Ernesto Valverde has yet to solve his team’s defensive problems, as Barcelona failed to keep a blank sheet in seven of their last nine outings, allowing over 1.5 match goals four times in the process. Regular on the scoresheet in their previous seven games, the Catalans have netted 2+ match goals on five occasions across that period, scoring precisely one goal per match on the remaining two.

Meanwhile, the Italians have registered partial success this summer (W3, D1, L2), with five of those matches producing over 2.5 goals although just three have seen both teams score. Lethal in front of goal inside the first 45 minutes, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have found the net in the first half in all six of their pre-season games so far. Free-scoring Napoli side has now found the net in 12 consecutive games ahead of this clash, bagging two or more goals per match eight times along the way. But, the Partenopei have struggled to preserve a clean slate in eight games during the same period, conceding over 1.5 match goals four times in the process.