Club Friendly: Napoli, Messi-less Barca Begin US Double Header

Napoli vs Barcelona

The Premier League may be set to kick off this weekend, but for teams from Italy and Spain, it’s still club friendly time.

Napoli and Barcelona are set to have not one, but two such friendlies against one another in the United States as they make their final preparations for the new season.

The big club friendly 2019 news for Barca is that Lionel Messi will miss the US tour due to a calf injury. But still, there will be a host of stars from both sides who should put on quite a show at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Talking Points

Napoli having fine pre-season

Napoli look as if their ready for the new Serie A season to begin. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have won their last two club friendlies as they hammered Liverpool 3-0 and edged out Olympique Marseille 1-0.

Dries Mertens scored the decisive goal against Marseille, while Lorenzo Insigne and Arkadiusz Milik were both on target in their big win over Liverpool.

Napoli’s attack remains quite formidable on paper, with Insigne, Mertens, Milik, and Jose Callejon, as well as Fabian Ruiz and Piotr Zielinski chipping in from midfield. Zielinski missed the Marseille match due to illness and is a doubt to feature against Barca.

That Napoli attack could get even better as they are closing in on a deal for James Rodriguez. James appeared to be on his way to Atletico Madrid a few weeks ago, but it seems the Italian side could still capture the Colombian playmaker on a year-long loan.

Napoli’s main summer acquisition thus far has been centre-back Kostas Manolas, who arrived from Roma. They also added 22-year-old goalkeeper Alex Meret from Udinese, as well as teenage midfielder Eljif Elmas from Fenerbahce. The 19-year-old got his first start against Marseille due to Zielinski’s absence and could feature once more if Zielinski remains unavailable.

Messi-less Barca on display

Even without Lionel Messi, Barcelona will still field a world-class attacking trio against Napoli. Luis Suarez will likely come in and join Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele in the front three for the Catalans.

With all that attacking talent, it’s no surprise to see why the club friendly 2019 odds still fancy the Catalans to come out on top.

Suarez recently came on as a substitute to score a dramatic 90th-minute winner for Barca in their 2-1 win over Arsenal in the Joan Gamper Trophy.

Can Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona win against Napoli in a club friendly match without Lionel Messi? — Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde watching his team play from the sideline

These two matches against Napoli should give Barca manager Ernesto Valverde the opportunity to experiment with different ways of playing without Messi in the line-up. The Argentine is already 32 years of age and could stand to see his playing time reduced this season, especially with Griezmann now in the fold.

This match could also see the first pre-season appearances of Arturo Vidal, Arthur, and Philippe Coutinho, who have been on holiday after participating in Copa America. Although, Coutinho’s future with the club remains in doubt as he continues to be linked with a move back to the Premier League.

Frenkie de Jong starred in the win against Arsenal and was named the match’s MVP. But the young Dutchman was critical of his performance and didn’t believe he deserved the award.

The young midfielder will look to do better against Napoli, who will feature a number of attacking threats that the Dutchman must keep an eye on defensively.

History

Napoli and Barcelona’s paths have not crossed too often. They have never met in the Champions League or any other European competition in their illustrious histories.

Although, they did meet previously in another club friendly back in 2014. Blerim Dzemaili — with the help from an error from Barca keeper Claudio Bravo — scored the only goal in a 1-0 Napoli win.

A handful of players on both sides — Kalidou Koulibaly, Callejon, and Insigne for Napoli and Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Ivan Rakitic, and Sergio Busquets for Barca — took part in that match and could feature once again.

Betting Tip

	Napoli vs Barcelona	Draw 1X2 @ 3.30
	August 8, 07:30 (GMT+8)

Even without Messi, SBOBET odds have Barcelona slightly favoured to win on the 1X2 market at 2.08, while Napoli are at 2.86.

Both sides are coming off consecutive friendly wins and also possess a ton of firepower. This has the makings of a fairly competitive and entertaining affair.

That’s why I foresee a draw between the two. Without Messi, this should be a more evenly balanced affair, and Napoli have the quality to at least hold the Spanish champions to a stalemate.