Match: Manchester City v Napoli
Date: Tuesday, October 17
Time: 2:45 AM Wednesday (SGT)/ 12:15 AM Wednesday (IST)/ 7:45 PM Tuesday (BST)
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Live Stream: Starhub Go app (Singapore)
TV Info: Eurosport (Singapore)/ Sony Ten (India)/ BT Sport (UK)
Overview
Manchester City will look to keep their perfect Champions League record intact when Napoli visit on Tuesday evening. Free-flowing City are top of Group F after taking six points from their first two matches and have yet to ship a single goal. Pep Guardiola's men are unbeaten in their last 16 games (W14 D3) since a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea on April 5 and go into this clash on the back of a 7-2 victory over Stoke City on Saturday in the Premier League.
City are in scintillating form at the moment but so are Napoli, with Maurizio Sarri's side flawless in Serie A so far this season.
Napoli sit top of Serie A after winning all seven of their league matches. The Naples club have not won the league since 1980 but are two points clear of nearest rivals Inter at the top. Napoli are third in their Champions League group, level on three points with Shakhtar. The Stadio San Paolo side have played eight and won eight in their domestic league, boasting a goal difference of plus 21.
However, Napoli have never won an away game against English opposition in all competitions, losing five of their six trips, conceding 15 goals and scoring only three.
Team News
Sergio Aguero could return to bolster Manchester City as they look to take a giant stride towards the Champions League knockout phase. The Argentina striker, who broke a rib in a road accident three weeks ago, was an unused substitute for the Premier League game against Stoke on Saturday.
Captain Vincent Kompany remains doubtful with a calf injury and did not train on Monday, while left-back Benjamin Mendy (knee) is a long-term absentee.
Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis says the Serie A leaders should rest some of their key players for Tuesday's Champions League clash. However, Arkadiusz Milik and Lorenzo Tonelli are Napoli's only major absences. Milik is still out with damaged knee ligaments, while Tonelli has been dropped from the squad.
Belgium striker Dries Mertens has helped propel Napoli to the top of Serie A with seven goals in eight league games this season. Mertens has been directly involved in nine of Napoli's past 14 Champions League goals, scoring six and providing three assists, although whether he is part of boss Maurizio Sarri's plan remains to be seen.
Head to Head
City and Napoli's only previous meeting came in the 2011-12 Champions League group stages. The Italians were unbeaten, drawing 1-1 in Manchester before winning 2-1 in Naples.
City are unbeaten in their past 10 Champions League home games (W7 D3).
This is City's seventh consecutive Champions League campaign. They have made it past the last 16 only once, reaching the semi-finals in 2015-16.
Napoli have progressed to the knockout stages in two of their three previous appearances but have never made it further than the last 16.
