Manchester City and Napoli Set for Champions League Showdown at Etihad

Manchester City will host SSC Napoli at the Etihad Stadium in their Champions League opener on September 18, 2025, at 20:00. The match, which will be officiated by German referee Felix Zwayer, marks the beginning of both teams' European campaigns in the 2025/2026 season. This Round 1 fixture brings together two sides with contrasting domestic form, as they look to make an early statement in Europe's premier club competition.

Manchester City (4-1-4-1, Pep Guardiola)
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma (25)
Defence: Rico Lewis (82), Ruben Dias (3), Nathan Ake (6), Josko Gvardiol (24)
Midfield: Rodri (16), Bernardo Silva (20), Tijjani Reijnders (4), Phil Foden (47), Jeremy Doku (11)
Forward: Erling Haaland (9)
Absent: John Stones (5), Rayan Cherki (10), Omar Marmoush (7), Mateo Kovacic (8), Rayan Ait Nouri (21)
Doubtful: Marcus Bettinelli (13)

SSC Napoli (4-1-4-1, Antonio Conte)
Goalkeeper: Alex Meret (1)
Defence: Giovanni Di Lorenzo (22), Sam Beukema (31), Alessandro Buongiorno (4), Leonardo Spinazzola (37)
Midfield: Stanislav Lobotka (68), Matteo Politano (21), Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (99), Kevin De Bruyne (11), Scott McTominay (8)
Forward: Rasmus Hoejlund (19)
Absent: Amir Rrahmani (13)

Manchester City and Napoli have faced each other four times in the Champions League, with City winning twice, Napoli winning once, and one match ending in a draw. Their most recent encounter came in November 2017, when Manchester City secured a 4:2 victory at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. The teams first met in the 2011/12 Champions League campaign, drawing 1:1 at the Etihad before Napoli claimed a 2:1 home victory. Their 2017/18 meetings saw City win both games, including a 2:1 home victory followed by their away triumph in Naples.

Manchester City enter this fixture with mixed form, having won three and lost two of their last five matches. They bounced back from consecutive Premier League defeats against Tottenham (0:2 on August 23) and Brighton (1:2 on August 31) with an emphatic 3:0 derby victory over Manchester United on September 14. Earlier in the season, City had shown their attacking prowess with a 4:0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 16 and a 3:0 friendly victory against Palermo on August 9. In contrast, Napoli arrive in Manchester in exceptional form, having won all five of their recent matches. Antonio Conte's side has been perfect in Serie A, defeating Sassuolo (0:2 on August 23), Cagliari (1:0 on August 30), and most recently Fiorentina (1:3 on September 13). They also recorded friendly wins against Sorrento (4:0 on August 10) and Olympiacos (2:1 on August 14).