Premier League toppers will welcome Serie A toppers on October 17 at Etihad Stadium. manchester city is performing like they never have before in the Premier League. They have thrashed big premier league sides like Liverpool and Chelsea. Their last game against Stoke City in the Premier League ended with a massive 7-2 win for City.
City boss, Pep Guardiola, joined his current club last season from Bayern Munich.
However, his first season didn’t go well and Man City finished third in the Premier League. This season, they have been performing like a title contender team and thrashing every team on their way.
In the Champions League, they have played two Group Stage matches and won both of them. Their first group stage match against Feyenoord ended with a 4-0 win for Man City. The second game against Shakhtar finished with a win for Man City by 2-0.
Their upcoming opponents, Napoli, are also in an excellent form. Napoli has been topping the Serie A points table since the opening day and won each of their eight-match in Serie A.
They have scored 24 goals so far in Italy.
However, their Champions League results aren’t up to par. They lost their first game against Shakhtar 1-2. The second game against Feyenoord wasn’t convincing, but they managed to register their first win 3-1.
What to expect?
Eight Champions League matches will be played simultaneously on October 17, but most of the football fans will probably watch this fixture. As both teams are on the top of their home league, it’ll be exciting to see how they keep each other under pressure.
Although both teams will come to take the three points, Napoli could face a tough challenge. Man City has thrashed many Premier League teams with massive goal margins lately. Napoli has to be careful while playing against City on their home ground.
Both teams last time came face-to-face back in the 2011 Champions League. Both teams were in Group-A. The first game ended with a 1-1 draw and the seconds game ended with a 2-1 win for the Italian side.
Lineup predictions
Pep Guardiola is unlikely to make any changes as most of his players are fit to play and winning matches with the same players. However, he can make some changes in midfield and defense, given Pep has some potential players that were benched in last few games.
Manchester City
- GK: Enderson
- Defense: Walker, Mangala, Stones, Delph
- Midfield: De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure
- Attack: Sterling, Jesus, Sane
Napoli manager, Maurizio Sarri is also unlikely to make any changes as none of his players are injured.
Napoli
- GK: Reina
- Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam
- Midfield: Allan, Jorginho, Hamsik
- Attack: Callejon, Mertens, Insigne