Normally a fixture that would grace the Champions League, Barcelona and Napoli are set to meet at the Camp Nou on Thursday night in the Europa League.
It’s the round of 32 stage of the competition and one of the favourites to win the tournament outright in the Blaugrana or Azzurri will be crashing out.
Azzurri to Take Advantage Back to Napoli
Barcelona’s troubles both on and off the field have been well documented over the last year, and while they brought in club legend Xavi to steady the ship, the head coach has not had the honeymoon period he would have hoped for.
The Camp Nou was once an intimidating venue where few teams would come away from smiling.
However, with just three wins in their last seven games at the iconic Catalan stadium, Barca’s troubles did not depart with the exit of former manager Ronald Koeman earlier this season.
Napoli on the other hand have three wins and a draw from their last four outings and find themselves challenging for the Serie A title this season.
The Azzurri have the confidence and the quality to come away from Barcelona with a win and they are 11/4 to take a lead back to Italy for the second leg.
A Tough Night in Store for Rangers
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers are going to be up against it when they head to the Westfalenstadion to face Borussia Dortmund on Thursday night.
Much of the talk before the game has been on the fitness of Erling Haaland, with the Norwegian striker likely to miss the encounter against the Scottish champions.
Even without their prolific forward, Dortmund are blessed with talent all over the park, and they should be able to secure a lead before heading over to Glasgow for the second leg.
However, Rangers should take heart from BVB’s recent defensive record, with the Bundesliga outfit keeping just one clean sheet in their last seven outings in all competitions.
With that in mind, the 29/20 for Dortmund to win and both teams to score on the night might be the way to go.
In-Form Porto to Edge Lazio
Porto are one of the form teams in Europe right now, with the Primeira Liga frontrunners on a 12-match unbeaten run that includes 11 wins.
Lazio on the other hand have been somewhat inconsistent in recent outings, with two wins, a draw and a defeat in their last four outings.
Porto bid farewell to star forward Luis Diaz in the January window but they still have a host of attacking threats in the final third.
Iranian forward Mehdi Taremi already has 12 league goals to his name this season and the 29-year-old is 7/5 to score anytime on Thursday night.
With just one defeat in their last 13 home games at the Estadio Do Dragao, Porto should be able to add another win to the list and are 10/11 to take a lead into the second leg.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
