Manchester City and Napoli will be facing each other in one of the most important matches for both clubs this season on Tuesday night, in a match that will decide their Champions League fate. Bayern Munich seem to be safe after their early wins in the group stages provided them with a certain degree of confidence now that the group stage nears its end. For Manchester City and Napoli, however, it is a totally different story. They both have to win if they are looking to close down the second position, which is the final one for qualifying into the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri has said that even though Manchester City have spent close to £1 billion in the few seasons that the new owners have had, both clubs will be in a similar position ahead of the match. Manchester City have spent a lot of money on transfer fees and wages, but Napoli proved to be more than a close match for them in the match at Eastlands. Walter Mazzarri believes that Napoli can have a great chance of winning against Manchester City given that the return leg is at home. Napoli have made a good start to the Italian Serie A season. They would be keen to continue that in the Champions League as well.
Ahead of the match, Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri said, “There has been lots of talk about budgets, transfer fees and salaries. Lets be clear, they are level with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United in terms of paying money, but thankfully the game is decided on the pitch – and they can only field 11 players last time I checked!”
Napoli trail Man City by two points in the group.