Two of Europe’s in-form teams will clash in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday as Manchester City host Napoli at the Etihad tonight.
Manchester City vs Napoli
Tuesday, October 17th
The Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Kick-off at 19:45 (7:45pm) GMT
Betting Odds : Manchester City (1.60) Draw (4.19) Napoli (5.11)
The pair are both unbeaten domestically and sit at the summit of their respective leagues at this stage. Manchester City have stormed the Premier League so far while Napoli are the standout side in Serie A. As they turn their attention to the ultimate European stage, a win for either side will see them take early control of Group F as we reach the halfway mark in the group phase of the competition but who will prevail in the battle of the sky blues?
Pep Guardiola’s side continued their campaign where they left off. They saw off Stoke City on Saturday in scintillating fashion as they slotted seven past them. This is now the third consecutive home league game that City have scored five or more goals and Napoli should be fearful when they roll up to the Etihad on Tuesday. Sergio Aguero is back in light training following a car accident a couple of weeks ago in which the striker sustained several broken ribs. It remains to be seen whether the Argentinian will have a part to play against the club that was once graced by the great Diego Maradona.
Manchester City recent results: (all competitions)
14/10/2017 – Man City 7-2 Stoke
30/09/2017 – Chelsea 0-1 Man City
26/09/2017 – Man City 2-0 Shakhtar
23/09/2017 – Man City 5-0 Crystal Palace
20/09/2017 – West Brom 1-2 Man City
Napoli have stunned Serie A this season. Under the guidance of Mauricio Sarri, they find themselves two points clear of Inter Milan and already a whopping five clear of defending champions Juventus with eight wins from their eight league matches played so far. They began their Champions League campaign with a shock defeat away to a stubborn Shakhtar Donetsk outfit but bounced back brilliantly in matchday 2 as they eased past Dutch champions Feyenoord 3-1 with goals from the trio of Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon who will all be key to their sides chances on Tuesday.
Napoli recent results: (all competitions)
14/10/2017 – Roma 0-1 Napoli
01/10/2017 – Napoli 3-0 Cagliari
26/09/2017 – Napoli 3-1 Feyenoord
23/09/2017 – S.P.A.L 2-3 Napoli
20/09/2017 – Lazio 1-4 Napoli
The teams have met just twice before, in the same stage of the UEFA Champions League in 2011/12 in what was their first foray into the depths of top-flight European football. City exited the competition in the group phase that season, at the expense of their Italian opponents as well as Bayern Munich who finished as group winners. After reaching the semi-finals for the first time in 2015/16, they will be hoping to go one better in 2017/18 and reach the showpiece final.
Manchester City vs Napoli head-to-head:
Games Played: 2
Man City Wins: 0
Drawn Games: 1
Napoli Wins: 1
Man City Goals: 2
Napoli Goals: 3
Manchester City vs Napoli previous fixtures:
22/11/2011 – Napoli 2-1 Man City
14/09/2011 – Man City 1-1 Napoli