Man City v Napoli – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

City have two wins and two losses this season and face a Napoli side that won last season’s Serie A. Kevin De Bruyne will face his former club in this one.

Match: Man City v Napoli
When: Thursday, 18 September 2025

Man City Form

City have been wildly inconsistent this season. They beat Wolves on the opening day but two losses followed. They were beaten 2-0 at home by Tottenham after a goalkeeping howler before losing 2-1 at Brighton after dominating the first half. On Sunday, they cruised past Man Utd 3-0 despite a late rally from their opponents.

Pep Guardiola’s side finished last season well, losing none of their final nine league matches with seven wins and two draws. They went to the FIFA Club World Cup but never looked fully focused. A quarter-final defeat to Al Hilal meant a season without a trophy.

Man City Team News

Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki are absent for Man City so Jeremy Doku will start again after his two assists against Man Utd. Mateo Kovacic and John Stones remain major doubts and Rayan Ait Nouri is out.

Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden returned for the last match and should start again. Abdukodir Khusanov is set to play at right back in the absence of a specialist right back in the squad. Rodri could be given a breather in this one due to his recent injury record.

Man City Motivation

City will be motivated to improve in this competition as they chase a second Champions League crown. They will go all out to win this match with full focus.

Guardiola’s side will try to play on the front foot and dominate proceedings. They will be wary of former Premier League players like De Bruyne, McTominay and Hojlund.

Napoli Form

Napoli won last season’s Serie A title as they were beaten just once in the final 23 rounds of action. Two draws in rounds 36 and 37 nearly cost them the Scudetto, but a 2-0 final day win over Cagliari was enough to be champions.         

This season has started with three straight wins. A 2-0 win at Sassuolo was followed by a last-gasp 1-0 home win over Cagliari as they outshot their opposition 20-10. On Saturday, the Partenopei raced into a 3-0 lead before eventually winning 3-1 at Fiorentina. Napoli produced 3.29 Expected Goals in that win.

Napoli Team News

Antonio Conte is without Romelu Lukaku in attack. Rasmus Hojlund will lead the line and he scored on his debut on Saturday. Goalkeeper Nikita Contini has a broken hand.

Centre back Amir Rrahmani is a major doubt, so summer signing Sam Beukema is set to play. Kevin De Bruyne will start as the number ten with Scott McTominay starting on the left.

Napoli Motivation

Conte’s side have firepower but their style is structured and not wide open. They will look to be compact in midfield and won’t care about possession.

Napoli will look to cause an upset in Manchester but a draw would be a great result too.

Key Stats

Man City have won 9 of their last 13 league matches

Man City’s Haaland has scored 15 goals in his last 10 matches for club and country

Napoli have lost just 1 of their last 26 matches

Napoli coach Antonie Conte has won 4 of his 7 matches vs Pep Guardiola

Napoli are winless in 12 matches away to English clubs (3 draws, 9 losses)

Verdict

This should be a good game to enjoy with the players returning to Manchester in Napoli’s side. City should have enough for the three points and backing Haaland to score a brace looks like a good bet.

Best Bet: Man City win at 1.65

Featured Bet: Man City win, Both Teams to Score Yes and Haaland to score anytime at 3.90

Goalscorer Bet: Haaland to score 2 or more goals at 5.50