Opta statistics
Pep Guardiola has faced Antonio Conte 7 times (4 losses, 3 wins). This is a factor that makes the confrontation at Etihad unpredictable. Pep Guardiola has dominated from Spain, Germany and then moved to England for the past 8 years. As for Conte, every team he leads such as Juventus, Inter, Chelsea or Napoli themselves shows formidable strength and continuous titles.
One of the focuses in the upcoming match is Erling Haaland when the Norwegian striker only needs 1 more goal to reach the milestone of 50 goals in the UEFA Champions League after only 48 matches. If he can do that, he will break Ruud van Nistelrooy's record from 2007, which needs 62 games to reach this milestone.
Kevin De Bruyne's return
After 10 years of playing for Manchester City, winning 16 titles, scoring 108 goals and providing 170 assists, De Bruyne left the Etihad last summer to join Napoli as a free agent.
The decision not to renew De Bruyne is considered a difficult choice for Man City's leadership. The midfielder himself initially disagreed that this was the right time to part ways. However, he passed away in peace, with an emotional speech in front of the Etihad audience and a mural of gratitude at the stadium.
Other familiar faces
Not only De Bruyne, two former Man United players also returned to the Etihad: Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund.
McTominay has flourished brilliantly since arriving in Napoli, even being honored as MVP of Serie A last season, when helping the team win the Scudetto. Meanwhile, Hojlund had a dream debut for Napoli, scoring just 14 minutes into the match. With Conte, the Danish striker can regain his inherent goal-scoring instinct.
Napoli and poor results in England
Statistics are against Napoli as they have never won each time they visit England after 12 matches (4 draws, 8 losses). In the last 2 times facing Man City (2017-18 season), Napoli both lost. However, Conte's team is leading Serie A after 3 rounds and is being highly rated.
Antonio Conte also understands Guardiola very well, having faced each other many times in the Premier League. Only Conte, Klopp and Enrique have won against Pep (at least 5 meetings). Therefore, the Napoli captain is expected to have a way to deal with Man City.
Home team's form
Man City entered the upcoming match in high spirits after a 3-0 victory in the Manchester Derby. However, that victory did not fully reflect Man City's true strength because Man United was too weak. Before that, Pep Guardiola's army had the most difficult start in many years with 2 consecutive defeats against Tottenham and Brighton.
Erling Haaland is seen as the key to helping Pep Guardiola solve problems at this stage. After scoring 6 goals for the Norwegian national team during the FIFA Days in September, he continued to score a double in the Manchester Derby. In addition, with 49 goals in 48 matches in the Champions League, Haaland is at the peak of his form, many experts even say this is the best version of this striker ever.
Phil Foden's return
Another bright spot for Man City is the revival of Phil Foden's form. After a period of decline, the English star scored in the match returning to the starting lineup in the Manchester Derby. Against Napoli, his form will be an important measure of the depth of the Citizens' attack, especially when Pep needs more diversity in the way he approaches the opponent's goal.
Force situation
Man City hopes John Stones and Rayan Ait-Nouri will recover in time for the match against Napoli. Meanwhile, Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush and Mateo Kovacic are out injured.
For Napoli, Romelu Lukaku and centre-back Amir Rrahmani will definitely be absent. In particular, Lukaku was not registered for the qualifying round because he will be out until December 2025.
Predicting the starting lineup
Man City (4-1-4): Donnarumma - O'Reilly, Gvardiol, Dias, Khusanov - Rodri - Doku, Foden, Reijnders, Silva - Haaland.
Napoli (4-1-4): Milinkovic-Savic - Spinazzola, Buongiorno, Beukema, Di Lorenzo - lobotka - McTominay, De Bruyne, Anguissa, Politano - Hojlund.
