Maybe the international break was really good for Manchester City. Because they came into it sitting in a bad place, but they looked pretty good in their first and only game (so far) coming out of it. City thrashed their rivals, United, 3-0 in one of the least anticipated Manchester derbies in recent memory. Now comes a tougher opponent in Napoli, and perhaps we’ll learn something here.
Were City really that good this past weekend, or were United just that bad?
UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 of 8
Manchester City vs Napoli
Kickoff: Thurs. Sept 18, 8pm, Etihad, Manchester, UK
Preview Material for Both Sides: Team News
So without any further ado, let’s just get on with it, and get to the lineup predictions.
Note the two former United players in the final third for Napoli. Throw in Kevin de Bruyne and you have three former Manchester clubs players in the forward part of the formation.
Starting XI Predictions
Manchester City
Gianluigi Donnarumma; Rico Lewis, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake; Rodri, Tijjanni Reijnders; Savinho, Oscar Bobb, Jeremy Doku; Erling Haaland
Napoli
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Sam Beukema, Alessandro Buongiorno, Leonardo Spinazzola; Stanislav Lobotka; Matteo Politano, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Kevin de Bruyne, Scott McTominay; Rasmus Hojlund
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter