Man City crisis: five key absences for Napoli Champions League tie | OneFootball

The anticipation for Manchester City-Napoli is growing by the hour, but there's not good news coming from the Citizens' camp. Pep Guardiola, just a few days away from the European debut at the Etihad Stadium (kick-off Thursday at 20:45), has to deal with a list of unavailable players that could complicate plans for the Champions League showdown.

Guardiola without Stones, Kovacic, and Marmoush: two ballots for the starting eleven

The absences are significant: the Catalan coach will have to do without five elements considered starters or first alternatives. The Franco-Algerian full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, the offensive talent Rayan Cherki, central defender John Stones, Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic, and especially the Egyptian striker Omar Marmoush, who was a standout in the last Premier League with 7 goals and 2 assists, will not be there. This emergency adds to a season start already affected by injuries and forced rotations, as also demonstrated in the derby against United. Despite this, Guardiola does not intend to back down: "There are no excuses in the Champions, we have to be ready".

The probable lineup for City still includes Donnarumma in goal, with a defensive line composed of Lewis, Dias, Aké (or Khusanov) and Gvardiol. In midfield, Silva, Rodri, and Reijnders will play, while the main doubt up front concerns the left out, with Doku and Savinho vying to complete the trident along with Foden and Haaland. Conte's Napoli will therefore face a reshuffled opponent, but no less dangerous: Manchester City remains one of the most equipped and competitive teams in Europe, able to cope even with significant defections thanks to the depth of its squad.

Andrea Alati

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.