The reigning Serie A champions, Napoli, will kick off their Champions League 2025/26 season against Premier League club Manchester City this Thursday.
After two back-to-back defeats against Tottenham and Brighton, the Cityzens finally had a sigh of relief with their confidence-boosting 3-0 victory over Manchester United last weekend. After a disappointing last season, Pep Guardiola's team are still struggling with their consistency. With two wins and the same number of losses, the hosts are currently sitting in 8th spot in the Premier League standings.
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Napoli, meanwhile, started their Serie A title defense in a dominating fashion. After adding a fourth Italian top-flight crown to their cabinet last term, Gli Azzurri are unstoppable this season. The visitors won each of their opening three league matches against Cagliari, Sassuolo, and Fiorentina and are comfortably sitting atop the Serie A leaderboard.
These two teams are set to face each other for the first time since the 2017-18 Champions League group stage clash, where Man City won both the games against Napoli by an aggregate score of 6-3.
The Sporting News looks at the key details ahead of this game, including how to watch the match, kickoff times, and the latest lineup news.
Man City vs. Napoli live stream, TV channel
Here's how to watch this Champions League match in Australia:
TV channel: N/A
Live stream: Stan Sport
This game is not available on free-to-air TV. Manchester City vs. Napoli is available for live stream, exclusively on Stan Sport.
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What time does Man City vs. Napoli kick off?
This Champions League clash takes place at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England and kicks off on Thursday, September 18 at 8:00 p.m. local time (BST).
Here's how that time translates across Australia:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| Australian Eastern Standard Time | Friday, September 19 | 5:00 a.m. |
| Australian Central Standard Time | Friday, September 19 | 4:30 a.m. |
| Australian Western Standard Time | Friday, September 19 | 3:00 a.m. |
Man City vs. Napoli lineups, team news
The hosts have several key injuries in their camp, as Omar Marmoush (knee), Rayan Cherki (muscle), Rayan Ait-Nouri (ankle), and Mateo Kovacic (Achilles) are all sidelined with their injuries, and John Stones is currently recovering from a minor muscle issue, and his fitness will be monitored ahead of Thursday's clash.
Guardiola has plenty of options, and he will likely think about rotating key players for this match. Rico Lewis, Nathan Ake, Nico Gonzalez, and Oscar Bobb are likely to get a nod in the starting lineup after starting as substitutes in the Manchester derby.
Man City predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Donnarumma (GK) — Lewis, Dias, Gvardiol, Ake — Rodri, Gonzalez — Savinho, Foden, Doku — Haaland.
Injured: Marmoush (knee), Cherki (muscle), Ait-Nouri (ankle), Kovacic (Achilles) and Stones (muscle/doubtful)
Suspended: None
As for Napoli, it will be an emotional moment for Kevin De Bruyne, who is set to make his first European appearance at the Etihad Stadium against his former team. The Etihad crowd is expected to give a warm welcome to this star midfielder for his contributions during his 10-year tenure with the club.
However, Gli Azzurri will miss the services of Romelu Lukaku (knee) along with Luca Marianucci and Pasquale Mazzocchi—the trio were ruled out of Napoli's UCL squad.
Amir Rrahmani (hamstring), Nikita Contini (broken hand), and Alex Meret (muscle) are also unavailable for selection with their respective injuries.
Napoli's ace midfielder Scott McTominay is likely to start in Thursday's clash.
Napoli predicted starting XI (3-4-2-1, right to left): Carnesecchi (GK) — Scalvini, Hien, Djimsiti — Bellanova, De Roon, Pasalic, Zalewski — De Ketelaere, Maldini — Krstovic.
Injured: Rrahmani (hamstring), Contini (broken hand) and Meret (muscle)
Suspended: None
Champions League fixture schedule this week
All times AEST
Wednesday, September 17
- Union SG def PSV Eindhoven, 3-1
- Arsenal def. Athletic Bilbao, 2-0
- Qarabag FK def. Benfica, 3-2
- Juventus draw. Borussia Dortmund, 4-4
- Real Madrid def. Marseille, 2-1
- Tottenham Hotspur def. Villarreal, 2-0
Thursday, September 18
- Olympiacos draw. Pafos FC, 0-0
- Slavia Prague draw. FK Bodø/Glimt, 2-2
- Liverpool def. Atletico Madrid, 3-2
- Inter Milan def. Ajax, 3-2
- Bayern Munich def. Chelsea, 3-1
- PSG def. Atalanta, 4-0
Friday, September 19
- Club Brugge vs. AS Monaco (2:45 a.m. AEST)
- FC Copenhagen vs. Bayer Leverkusen (2:45 a.m. AEST)
- Newcastle United vs. Barcelona (5 a.m. AEST)
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Galatasaray (5 a.m. AEST)
- Manchester City vs. Napoli (5 a.m. AEST)
- Sporting CP vs. Kairat (5 a.m. AEST)