Ake And Lewis To Start | 4-1-4-1 Manchester City Predicted Lineup Vs Napoli | OneFootball

Manchester City will entertain Napoli at the Etihad Stadium this Thursday night as they hope to earn a good result at home in the UEFA Champions League. The Mancunian outfit managed to secure an impressive 3-0 win against Manchester United recently, which should keep them in good spirits ahead of this game.

Pep Guardiola will set his players up in a 4-1-4-1 formation once again and is expected to make a couple of changes to his first team for this clash. Both Nathan Ake and Rico Lewis could get a chance to impress from the start of this game.

4-1-4-1 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Napoli

Defence

Gianluigi Donnarumma will function in goal for Manchester City after keeping a clean sheet on his Premier League debut last weekend. Ruben Dias will play alongside Nathan Ake at the heart of Guardiola’s defence as they hope to keep the opposition at bay throughout the 90 minutes.

Rico Lewis will play as the right-back, while Josko Gvardiol hopes to impress on the other side as the left-back. Both of them would get the freedom to go forward and express themselves in the Napoli half.

Abdukodir Khusanov will offer cover for the defensive positions on the bench.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Tijjani Reijnders of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Manchester United at Etihad Stadium on September 14, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Midfield

Rodri will operate as the defensive midfielder as he looks to break plays down in the middle of the park. Both Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders will play just ahead of him as the box-to-box midfielders.

Phil Foden will get a chance to shine on the right flank, while Jeremy Doku looks to stretch the pitch on the left wing. Both of them would try to get in behind the Napoli backline at every chance they get.

Nico Gonzalez and Oscar Bobb will have to settle for a spot on the bench as they await their chance to make an impact in the second 45 minutes if required.

Attack

Erling Haaland will once again spearhead Guardiola’s attack up top. He scored a brace in the Manchester derby, so he would fancy his chances of finding the back of the net against Napoli this Thursday night.

Savinho will have to be content with a spot on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the latter stages if Man City need a goal.