We look ahead to Thursday’s Champions League game at the Etihad Stadium with our Man City vs Napoli prediction and preview. Can City capitalise on derby delight, or will familiar faces return with a point to prove?
Man City vs Napoli: The Key Stats
- In the Opta supercomputer‘s 10,000 pre-match simulations, Manchester City beat Napoli 54.9% of the time.
- Man City boss Pep Guardiola has faced Napoli counterpart Antonio Conte on seven occasions across all competitions, losing more matches (4) than he has won (3).
- Erling Haaland is one goal away from reaching 50 in the UEFA Champions League (48 appearances), and looks all but assured to set a new record for the fewest appearances taken to hit 50 UCL goals.
The visit of Napoli to the Etihad Stadium will see a host of familiar faces return to Manchester, but none so revered as Kevin De Bruyne, regarded by many as Manchester City’s all-time greatest player.
De Bruyne was a City player for 10 years before leaving as a free agent to join Napoli over the summer, winning 16 trophies in sky blue, as well as many important personal accolades on the back of an astonishing 108 goals and 170 assists in 422 appearances.
The decision to let the Belgian leave without the offer of a fresh contract was no doubt a tough choice for the club’s hierarchy, and De Bruyne reportedly initially disagreed with the assertion that it was the right time for him to depart the club.
Though he ultimately left on great terms, with an emotional post-match speech in front of the Etihad faithful and the presentation of a training ground mural in his image, a competitor of his ilk will no doubt be keen to prove that the club decided to move him on a year too soon.
De Bruyne won’t be the only Napoli player to reacquaint himself with the sunny skies of Manchester, although his reception will be vastly different to the others. Scott McTominay and Rasmus Højlund will both return to the city after joining Napoli from Manchester United in successive seasons.
McTominay’s stock has risen considerably in Italy. The Scot was named Serie A’s Most Valuable Player after helping lead to club to the Scudetto in manager Antonio Conte’s first season.
It could end up a similar story for Højlund, who after two miserable seasons with limited output in England, scored 14 minutes into his Napoli debut at the weekend. He will be hoping to rediscover the promise shown during his time with Atalanta.
Napoli have lost each of their last two matches against Man City, though those games did come during the 2017-18 campaign. Nonetheless, they have historically struggled in England, having never won away to an English side in 12 attempts.
They have followed up a title-winning campaign with another quick start this season, topping the Serie A table after three games, and Conte is a coach that Pep Guardiola will not be too enthused to duel with once more.
The two managers have faced off on seven previous occasions and it is the Italian that has the upper hand to date, winning four times to Guardiola’s three. Only Jürgen Klopp and Luis Enrique have faced Guardiola more often while still winning more often than losing.
City will be energised after their derby victory against Man Utd at the weekend, although it is hard to say exactly how much of that performance was built on City’s quality or United’s lack of it.
The form of Erling Haaland will no doubt be decisive in this encounter, and the Norwegian is absolutely flying, as he is often liable to do in the early months of the season.
Haaland followed up six goals over the international break with a derby day brace on Sunday, and his output across the first four games of the Premier League season has been staggering.