Manchester City have a tough assignment against Napoli to navigate in Thursday’s Champions League opener at the Etihad Stadium.
Both teams claimed emphatic wins in their most recent outings and will be full of confidence heading into what should be an exciting watch.
Manchester City preview
Staring down the barrel of three straight defeats, Man City produced their most impressive performance of the season to run out 3-0 winners over local rivals Manchester United.
Phil Foden marked his first start in just under three months with a lovely header 18 minutes in to break the deadlock, after which Erling Braut Haaland grabbed a second-half double to make sure of things.
A return of six points from a possible 12 so far is by no means vintage City, but Pep Guardiola will be hoping that Sunday’s victory serves as a springboard for his side to kick on.
City’s upcoming European clash against Napoli will see the teams face off for the first time since 2017, when the 2023 Champions League winners claimed 2-1 and 4-2 group-stage wins.
Napoli preview
After losing last season’s top scorer, Romelu Lukaku, to injury in their final warm-up outing ahead of the new campaign, Napoli had a late spanner thrown into the works.
However, Antonio Conte’s side have won each of their three opening Serie A matches, most recently a 3-1 triumph over Fiorentina, which began with a Kevin De Bruyne penalty.
The Belgian was seemingly heading to the United States for the next phase of his career before Napoli swooped to sign him, and that move has turned out to be a masterstroke.
De Bruyne assisted a goal apiece in both of City’s last two wins against Napoli, but will now seek to lead the Serie A champions to victory against their English counterparts.
Thursday’s visitors have won six straight matches and are unbeaten in nine across all competitions ahead of their trip to Manchester, where they will be hoping to open the scoring for a seventh game running.
Team news
Rayan Cherki (thigh), Mateo Kovacic (Achilles), Omar Marmoush (knee), Raya Ait Nouri (ankle) and Kalvin Phillips (Achilles) are all guaranteed absentees for Man City here.
John Stones missed the game against Man United but could return to action for his side on Thursday.
Having opened his Napoli account at the weekend, Rasmus Hojlund has now scored in back-to-back games for club and country and should retain his place.
Romelu Lukaku is still a considerable way off coming back from a thigh problem and misses out for the visitors alongside Nikita Contini (hand) and Amir Rrahmani (muscle).
Manchester City Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Khusanov, Dias, Ake; Reijnders, Rodri; Doku, Foden, Savinho; Haaland.
Napoli Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Spinazzola, Buongiorno, Beukema, Di Lorenzo; Lobotka; McTominay, De Bruyne, Anguissa, Politano; Hojlund.
