Champions League: Man City face tough task against solid Napoli
Published:Manchester City can qualify for the Champions League knockout stage at the first time of asking with a victory this Tuesday – but they will have their work cut out against a very solid Napoli side.
City have been rampant in the Premier League, winning 14 of their previous 15 games and drawing the other one, and, after a difficult start, they are starting to find their form in the Champions League.
They began with a scrambled 1-1 draw against Tuesday’s opponents, Napoli, before succumbing to Bayern Munich 2-0 in that infamous game in which Carlos Tevez refused to go on the pitch.
That was a watershed moment for City and since then they have won both of their Champions League games to put them within touching distance of qualification.
However, they may have to wait a little bit longer for confirmation of their progression.
Since returning to European competition after a 13 year absence in 2008, Napoli are undefeated in ten matches, while the last foreign team to win in Naples was Frankfurt in December 1994.
City may be favourites at 21/10 to win the clash, but backing the draw at 12/5 could lead to a very decent pay out.
Meanwhile, the other game in Group A sees Bayern Munich facing bottom side Villarreal knowing a victory would be enough to see them progress.
With Villarreal winning just one of their previous eight Champions League games and losing all of their last four, backing Bayern – who have not lost in five European games – to win to nil looks well worth considering at 5/6 .
