Manchester City v Napoli Betting Preview – UEFA Champions League 17th October 7.45pm
This will be an interesting test for Man City because they face a Napoli side who are enjoying something of a strong season themselves. Napoli have only managed to avoid defeat in England once before and was at Manchester City back in 2011. The Italians won the last meeting between the two, but a shaky defeat at Shakhtar on Match Day One may raise questions about them. Manchester City have been a well-oiled machine this season and they are looking to make it three wins from three in Group F.
Manchester City v Napoli Betting Tips
The Citizens are in beast-mode at the moment and they seem to be getting better and better every time that they step out onto the pitch. But they could have a tricky test at home against Napoli in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night as the Italians are carrying stunning form this season. So far in the group stage, Man City have beaten Feyenoord 4-0 and Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 so they are top of Group F and are fully in control of things. If they win this one then their advantage would be further extended. You fully expect goals wherever Manchester City are at the moment after having put seven past Stoke on the weekend, and over 3.5 goals at bet365 is a decent 5/6 because the visitors are in terrific scoring form as well this season.
City and the Partenopei have met before as they clashed in the 2011/12 Group Stage and after a 1-1 draw in Manchester, with the Citizens losing 2-1 out on the road and that defeat meant that City finished in third place in the group. They went up Juventus in the 2015/16 group stage and that’s the last time they face Italian opposition. They lost both matches that season though against the Old Lady. City are on an 11 match unbeaten streak at home in the Champions League winning eight of them (qualifying included). Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus are 3/4 joint favourites in the anytime goalscorer market with Leroy Sane at 6/4 and Raheem Sterling at 13/8. City are on a four match winless streak at home against Italian opponent and overall, Man City’s record in their last eight games against Italian opposition is W1 D4 L3.
Man City did concede against Stoke on the weekend and because Napoli are a powerful scoring side, both teams to score is at 2/5 with bet365 for this one. It would be a huge surprise if it didn’t happen. In the bet365 correct score market, a Manchester City 2-1 correct score is the shortest priced option at 8/1 but a 3-1 on them for 10/1 has some appeal. Napoli are top of Serie A at the moment having won all eight of their games played so far and in that sequence, they have averaged over three goals per game. Carrying back to the end of last season they have won their last 13 league games in the league. This season across all competitions Napoli have won 11 for their 12 fixtures this season in all competitions. They have scored at least three goals in eight of those 12 fixtures. Striker Dries Mertens is having a fantastic season in front of goal and is right up there at 7/5 in the anytime goalscorer market.
Napoli have not been beaten in their last three matches against English sides however their record in England itself is winless. The Partenopei have gone D1 L3 in their last four visits to England and yet the only time they managed to avoid defeat was against City. Their last trip to a face up against a Premier League side saw them play out a 0-0 draw at Swansea in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League round of 32 first leg. Napoli are W0 D2 L3 away to Premier League sides overall. The only defeat that Napoli have suffered this season was on match day one of the Champions League when they suffered a shock defeat at Shakhtar. That was just their third away defeat in their last ten European fixtures since the start of the 2015/15 season (W6 D1). They earned seven points on the road last season in the group stage and will make City work in this one. That’s if they put out a full strength side, as the club said that they would pretty much sacrifice this game to focus on a big league game against Inter on the weekend. They got to the round of sixteen last season where they were stopped by Real Madrid.
Manchester City v Napoli Betting Odds
Man City 3/5, Draw 16/5, Napoli 4/1
Manchester City v Napoli Predictions
Man City to win: It is probably worth a flutter on both teams to score in this fixture as Napoli do carry a threat. They can take a huge stride towards winning the group with a victory in this one. Napoli are no mugs but that away loss they suffered on match day one has to been on the back of the mind and City should have enough on home soil to collect the win.
