*Undated
The Europa League draw was made on Monday December 13th in Nyon, Switzerland to decide the eight playoff matchups in the brand-new knockout stage of Europe’s second-tier club competition, and Barcelona already knows who they will face in February.
Barca finished third in their group behind Bayern Munich and Benfica, which saw them drop into Europe's secondary competition for the first time in 17 years.
Barcelona also known as 'the blaugrana' have been drawn against Italian side Napoli, who finished second in Group C. Barça have faced Napoli twice before in European competition, beating the Serie A side in the Champions League Round of 16 last season.
This is the worst possible draw for Barça who get the best team out of all their possible opponents, and to make matters worse they will have to travel to Naples for the second leg without the advantage of the away goals rule, which no longer exists in European football.
The first leg will take place on Thursday, February 17th at Camp Nou with the second leg a week later at the Diego Maradona Stadium. The most famous player to have represented both clubs is Diego Armando Maradona. The stadium in Naples formerly known as the San Paolo stadium now bears the name of the Argentine who played for Barça between 1982 and 1984 before leaving for Italy.
Napoli last played Barca in the round-of-16 of the Champions League in 2020, with the Catalan side prevailing with a 4-2 victory on aggregate.
A lot has changed since then, with Xavi Hernandez now in charge of a Lionel Messi-less Barca side that have not just failed to get out of their Champions League group but also sit eighth in La Liga.
Napoli, meanwhile, have slipped to fourth in Serie A after a run of just one win in six league games.