On Wednesday evening, eight Champions League matches will be played, and this time representatives of groups E and H will compete, after which the fourth round of the tournament will end.
The clash in Naples, where the leading team in the Italian championship, "Napoli," will meet the still undefeated "Manchester City" team this season, will receive great interest. In their first match two weeks ago, "City" celebrated a 2-1 victory at home.
As this match approaches, we present an overview of this duel.
Teams' form
In their respective country's leagues, both teams are playing exceptionally well: both "Manchester City" in England and "Napoli" in Italy are still undefeated, with these teams managing to secure victories just once in their domestic leagues. It's no surprise that "Napoli" leads in their country with 31 points, and "City" with 28 points lead in their country's championship.
However, in the Champions League, these teams have had different success. "Manchester City" is doing well with three wins, confidently leading Group F, while "Napoli" suffered not only losses against today's opponents but also against "Shakhtar" and currently ranks third in the standings.
Teams' news
In this match, the leaders of the Italian championship will be without the long-absent Arkadiusz Milik, but all other players will be ready to step onto the field.
It is believed that experienced full-back Christian Maggio may return to the starting lineup, and Kalidou Koulibaly, Amadou Diawara, and Piotr Zielinski, who received rest over the weekend, are rested and ready for tonight's clash.
Pep Guardiola's team also does not have any new injured players on the squad. The club will be without long-term injured defenders Benjamin Mendy and Vincent Kompany.
Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling, who both rose from the bench in the last "Premier League" round, should compete for a place in the starting lineup, but it is most likely that there will be just one change in the "Man City" lineup compared to the last match, and instead of Bernardo Silva, Sergio Aguero will be seen in the attack from the first minutes.
Predicted starting lineups:
"Napoli": Reina; Maggio, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Zielinski, Diawara, Hamsik; Callejon, Mertens, Insigne.
"Manchester City": Ederson; Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Delph; De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Silva; Jesus, Aguero, Sane.
Interesting facts
During the teams' mutual matches in the Champions League history, total parity currently prevails. Both clubs have celebrated victory once with a score of 2-1, with one match ending in a draw;
This year, "Manchester City" won the first three matches in the Champions League group stage for the first time in the club's history. The last time they achieved this in European tournaments was in 2008-2009 when the club achieved an identical result in the UEFA Cup;
In their club's history in this tournament, "City" faced Italian clubs six times and celebrated victory only once (2 draws, 3 defeats). They also suffered defeat in their only match in Naples;
If Pep Guardiola's players fail to advance to the knockout stages, they would change the history of the Champions League, as until now, all teams that won the first three group stage matches advanced to the next round;
In their last five matches in the Champions League, "Napoli" only managed one victory and suffered four losses;
In this season, "City" plays perfectly away - they won all their matches at their opponents' stadiums;
"Napoli" has not lost at home in 17 consecutive matches in all tournaments. The last time they were defeated in Naples was by the Madrid team "Real" last season in the Champions League knockout stages.
