Manchester City and Napoli meet at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday in one of the standout fixtures of the Champions League’s opening League Phase round.
Softfootball understands that the clash will see Kevin De Bruyne return to Manchester just three months after leaving City, where he spent a decade, won 19 trophies, and became one of the club’s all-time greats. Now in Napoli colours, the Belgian is expected to receive a warm reception from fans who once idolised him.
Manchester City’s form and motivation
City head into their first UCL clash of the season following their 3-0 Manchester derby win over United, where Phil Foden’s early strike and a brace from Erling Haaland secured victory on an emotional day marked by tributes to Ricky Hatton. This result was crucial after back-to-back league defeats to Tottenham and Brighton, which had raised questions about Guardiola’s side at the start of the season.
Last Sunday’s game was City’s second clean sheet of the season and could be credited to Donnarumma’s outstanding debut for the Cityzens. The presence of the Italian goalkeeper in the squad will be a great boost for City as they enter the Champions League phase with Donnarumma’s experience, having recently won the competition.
In Europe, Manchester City has underperformed recently: last year, they finished only 22nd in the 36-team league phase and were eliminated by Real Madrid in the knockout playoff. They have lost four of their last five UCL games; however, their home form remains a fortress, unbeaten in 21 League Phase/group matches at the Etihad (18 wins, 3 draws). Haaland, sitting on 49 Champions League goals in 48 games, is chasing another milestone and will spearhead their attack again.
Napoli’s form and resurgence
Napoli will be arriving in Manchester in excellent shape under coach Antonio Conte, having begun their Serie A title defence with three straight wins against Cagliari, Sassuolo, and Fiorentina. De Bruyne has already scored twice since joining, including a penalty last weekend, while fellow signing Rasmus Hojlund, who joined from Manchester United for a loan-buy deal, netted on his debut in the 3-1 win at Fiorentina. Napoli are no strangers to the Champions League, but after missing out last season for the first time since 2009-10, they are determined to make an impact.
Here is De Bruyne’s penalty goal against Fiorentina as shown on Napoli’s official X handle:
Their record in Europe is solid with only three defeats in their last 18 group-stage games, but their Achilles heel remains trips to England: they have never beaten an English team away, losing nine out of 12 such matches.
Meanwhile, the English champions have secured two victories, while Napoli has won once, and there has been one draw, with all matches producing goals for both sides.
They first met in September 2011, which was also City’s very first Champions League fixture. On that occasion, Edinson Cavani struck first for Napoli before Aleksandar Kolarov equalized with a brilliant free kick to seal a 1-1 draw at the Etihad. In the reverse fixture two months later, Cavani was once again the difference-maker, scoring twice to hand Napoli a 2-1 win in Italy. Mario Balotelli scored for City, but the defeat ultimately cost them a place in the knockout rounds, while Napoli advanced.
The clubs would not meet again until 2017, when Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City faced them in another group stage campaign. City edged the home clash 2-1 thanks to early goals from Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus before completing the double with a thrilling 4-2 triumph in Naples. That night was particularly memorable as Sergio Agüero scored his record-breaking goal to become City’s all-time leading scorer.
Meanwhile, Manchester City has shared an intriguing video to remind their fans ahead of Thursday’s game via its official X handle.
Here is the snippet:
Team news and predicted lineups
City will be without Omar Marmoush, Mateo Kovacic, Rayan Aït-Nouri, and Rayan Cherki, while John Stones faces a late fitness test. Guardiola may rotate with Rico Lewis, Nathan Aké, Nico González, Oscar Bobb, and Savinho pushing for starts, but Haaland is certain to lead the line.
Napoli are missing Romelu Lukaku, Amir Rrahmani, Nikita Contini, and Alex Meret, but Conte can call upon De Bruyne, McTominay, and Hojlund, with Politano and Anguissa offering attacking support.
Pep Guardiola and Antione Conte have met only seven times, with the City manager recording only three wins against his opposition, who had beaten him four times. The first time they met was in 2016 when Guardiola’s City met with Chelsea, which ended in a 3-1 defeat. The last time was a lone goal defeat by City against Tottenham.
Expected result
City 3-1 Napoli
Possible line-up:
Manchester City: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rico Lewis, Ruben Dias, Abdukodir Khusanov, Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku
Napoli: Alex Meret, Di Lorenzo, Sam Beukema, Alessandro Buongiorno, Leonardo Spinazzola, Stanislav Lobotka, Matteo Politano, Frank Anguissa, Kevin De Bruyne, Scot McTominay, Rasmus Hojlund.
