FC Barcelona’s Champions League Quarter And Semi-Final Opponents Revealed, Should They Beat Napoli

FC Barcelona will face Chelsea or Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals, and then either Juventus, Lyon, Real Madrid or Manchester City in the semi-finals.

The draw was made at UEFA’s Nyon headquarters at around 12.00 CEST on Friday. First, though, Barca must of course overcome a game Napoli outfit in the second leg of their Last 16 clash on August 8.

The Catalans hopeful that up to 15,000 members may be able to attend the second leg clash, they nurse an away goal advantage following the 1-1 draw that played out at the Stadio San Paolo at the end of Feburary.

In what will be only coach Quique Setien’s second Champions League game in charge, the Blaugrana will be without a suspended Sergio Busquets but should be able to call on the services of a Frenkie de Jong set to return from injury in the coming weeks.

Arthur will also be available, however after being sold to potential semi-final opposition Juventus almost a fortnight ago, there are doubts he may ever don Barca colors again.

Elsewhere in the tournament, the Serie A leaders will face Real Madrid or Manchester City if they overturn a 1-0 deficit held by Lyon in the last 16. Then, the winner of this quarter final will face either Barca, Napoli, Bayern Munich or Chelsea in the semis.

This of course means that there could yet again be a Clasico semi-final between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, to match memorable encounters in 2002 and 2011.

Much more straightforward to grasp, the winners of quarter-finals between RB Leipzig and Atletico Madrid, and Atalanta v Paris Saint-Germain, will meet for a place in the final.

Though the second legs of the remaining last 16 ties will be contested at home stadiums, the tournament will head to Lisbon for a unique ‘Final 8’ format composed in light of complications brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

As opposed to being two-legged, the quarters and semi finals will, like the final, be decided from August 12-23 in just one encounter played at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica and the Estádio José Alvalade across the Portuguese capital.