Kevin De Bruyne returns to the Etihad Stadium with Napoli as Manchester City begin their Champions League campaign
Manchester City head into this clash on the back of a morale-boosting 3-0 derby win over struggling rivals Manchester United in the Premier League last Sunday, following consecutive defeats to Tottenham and Brighton before the international break. On an emotional afternoon, as the club paid tribute to the late Manchester-born boxing legend and City fan Ricky Hatton, local star Phil Foden opened the scoring in the first half. Erling Haaland then added two more after the break to secure the bragging rights and all three points for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Kevin De Bruyne is set for a quick return to the Etihad Stadium as his new club, Napoli, travel to face Manchester City in their opening League Phase fixture of the 2025-26 Champions League on Thursday night. This match marks the first time the two sides have met in Europe’s top club competition since the 2017-18 group stage, when City won both encounters by an aggregate score of 6-3, including a 2-1 victory at the Etihad.
Guardiola will hope that the derby triumph sparks a turnaround in form after a sluggish start to the campaign. While City will have one eye on their upcoming trip to title rivals Arsenal, their immediate focus is on kicking off their 15th consecutive Champions League season on a positive note. The 2023 champions will be eager to avoid a repeat of last season’s disappointing League Phase showing, when they finished 22nd out of 36 teams (W3 D2 L3) and were eliminated by Real Madrid in the knockout playoff round. Although City have lost four of their last five Champions League matches (W1), they remain unbeaten in 21 group-stage/League Phase games at the Etihad (W18 D3), and have won five and drawn one of their last six opening fixtures in the competition—a promising record ahead of Thursday’s test against Napoli.
Napoli, meanwhile, enter the contest in fine form after winning their second Serie A title in three seasons—and first under manager Antonio Conte—in 2024-25. They have started their title defense perfectly, winning their opening three league matches against Cagliari, Sassuolo, and Fiorentina. Rasmus Hojlund, newly signed from Manchester United, scored 14 minutes into his debut in last weekend’s 3-1 win at Fiorentina, following a sixth-minute penalty from fellow new arrival De Bruyne—his second goal since leaving City.
Despite the strong start, Conte has cautioned his players against complacency, pointing to a late lapse in concentration that allowed Fiorentina to score in the final 10 minutes. Napoli will be the fifth different club Conte has managed in the Champions League, after Juventus, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Tottenham. The Italian side are preparing for their ninth appearance in the competition, having missed out on the 2024-25 edition for the first time since 2009-10.
Napoli have lost just three of their last 18 Champions League group-stage/League Phase games (W11 D4), but have never won away against English opposition in European competition (D3 L9). They have suffered defeat at least once against six of the seven English clubs they have faced—Arsenal, Burnley, Chelsea, Leeds United, Liverpool, and Manchester City—with Leicester City being the only exception, having avoided defeat in the 2021-22 campaign.