21st Nov 2011 | Football
Napoli v Man City
There's been an over-reaction to Napoli's performance at the Etihad. City are still a class above and lessons have been learnt.
Tuesday night offers us an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often these days; Man City can be backed at better than evens money to win a football match! WilliamHill offer a best price on the market of 11/10 on the Premier League leaders beating Napoli, and I think it’s a punt worth taking.
Extolling the merits of Roberto Mancini’s side may seem a little unneccessary, but let’s just have a brief recap. Top of the table with 11 wins and a draw from the opening 12 league fixtures represents the joint best start to a campaign in English top flight history. 42 goals have been scored by The Citizens with just 11 conceded. There has been a 5-1 hammering of Tottenham at White Hart Lane and a 6-1 destruction of neighbours United at Old Trafford. The facts and figures speak for themselves.
The reason why we are offered some tempting odds is that Napoli are regarded as rather useful themselves. They surprised the locals with their fluidity in the 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium, and probably should have won. But the Italians played well above their usual level on that occasion, and City were struggling to adapt to their first ever Champions League outing.
Since then Mancini’s side have been finding their feet in Europe while Napoli have undergone something of a slump. Mazzari’s team are down to 9th in Serie A after a frustrating 0-0 draw at home to Lazio at the weekend. That followed on from defeat away to Catania and, more expectedly, at Bayern Munich in this competition. Tuesday is undeniably a massive night for the Naples club, but heading into it without a win in nearly a month is hardly ideal preparation.
Man City will hardly be lacking in motivation themselves. With a final group game still to come against the excellent Bayern, while Napoli face pointless Villarreal, a draw may not feel like enough for either side this week. Furthermore, Mancini will be eager to showcase the true credentials of his all-star side on his first meaningful return to Italy as City manager.
I reiterate, getting better than evens on a side that has won its last nine matches in alll competitions is a rare treat, and not one to pass up.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 18:19 21st Nov, 2011 but subject to change
