Napoli vs Man City betting

Napoli: Champions League form: LDWD

Napoli’s form has stuttered of late, seeing them drop down the Serie A table into 7th position. However they do remain a force to be reckoned with in Europe – they battled bravely away at group favourites Bayern Munich last time out, coming agonisingly close to a memorable comeback but finishing the game with a 3 – 2 defeat. They also demonstrated in the opening game at the Etihad Stadium that they were a match for City with star men Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi impressing for the visitors. Napoli will be hoping for big performances from these two and Uruguayan goal machine Edinson Cavani if they want to get the three points in this must win game.

Manchester City: Champions League form: WWLD

Roberto Mancini’s men look almost invincible in the Premiership at the moment, and after a slow start they appear to be finding their feet in Europe as well. A draw and defeat against Napoli and Bayern Munich respectively left many City fans fearing the worst, but six points out of six against Villareal have given them renewed hope to progress from what many saw as a “Group of Death”. In the league, it is quite different though; City have won eleven of their twelve games so far, the only draw coming away at Fulham eight games ago. In fact, their last Premiership defeat came back in early May away at Everton and since then City have won every game apart from the Fulham draw. Whilst the defence has been solid with a rejuvenated Jolean Lescott in good form alongside captain Vincent Kompany, City’s main strong point is their attack. The likes of Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko have smashed in an incredible forty two goals this season – thirteen more than the next highest scorers Manchester United.

Match Prediction: Manchester City win (William Hill – 2.10)

City sit two points ahead of Napoli in Group A, meaning a win would see them progress, however going to the San Paolo will be a difficult task for Mancini’s team; Napoli have recorded only two defeats there in their last twenty league games. Even group toppers Bayern couldn’t defeat Napoli there. This is a must win game for both teams, with even a draw possibly not being enough for City; they entertain Bayern in their last game with Napoli facing a considerably less difficult game at Villareal. In what will be a fiercely-contested encounter, one thing that looks likely is goals with firepower such as Cavani, Lavezzi, Balotelli, Aguero and Dzeko all involved. However this remains a very tricky game to call but given the two team’s recent form an away win seems the more likely outcome.

By Anthony Cunningham

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