Napoli (Away) Pre Match Thread

Napoli v City prediction

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One of the best things about being a fan of a Pep coached side is knowing that they will never show up to play for anything other than a win. City may not win tonight in the end but I am certain that they will only be out there to win - not draw or simply avoid losing. So, a spectacle is virtually assured

Better still, from a neutral, is that Napoli will be going all out to win themselves as anything but 3 points and they are looking at the Europa League
 
FCBarca said:
Better still, from a neutral, is that Napoli will be going all out to win themselves as anything but 3 points and they are looking at the Europa League
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That's another thing I'm looking forward to - we haven't really played a side yet this season who have gone all out to beat us. Will we be able to dominate possession in our usual way at the San Paolo? If not, will be able to hurt them on the counter? It's going to be a fascinating game, can't wait.
 
Nightmare Walking said:
No chance we let this one go tonight. We let the league cup go last season and then seemed to lose all momentum, which at the time time resuscitating United while they were there to finished off.

Tonight is far more important than Sunday. To go over there and do what no English team has ever done would send a clear message round Europe that we are the real deal. Also means if we won that we could rest player against Shakira before a far more important game against the rags.

Arsenal are shite and champions league or not, there should be no excuse for not beating them on Sunday.
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That’s whole lotta hip shaking.
 
Toughest game of the season. Infact, outside of perhaps Spurs and Liverpool away (LFC always raise their game against us at Anfield), we won't face a tougher game unless we draw one of the big 3 + PSG in the CL, and even then non of big 3 look great so far this season.

Can understand the benefits of beating Napoli away in terms of CL belief etc. but in terms of cold hard points the Arsenal game is more important. I worry a bit about tiredness. Few players looked knackered after 60 mins at WBA, esp. KDB.

Would be happy with a draw right now if offered. Finish the job at home to Feyenoord
 
Ric said:
That's another thing I'm looking forward to - we haven't really played a side yet this season who have gone all out to beat us. Will we be able to dominate possession in our usual way at the San Paolo? If not, will be able to hurt them on the counter? It's going to be a fascinating game, can't wait.
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Many interesting battles on/off the pitch tonight which I find riveting. I had only seen Napoli briefly and never for 90 minutes prior to the 1st leg match and left thoroughly impressed. Then throw in playing in front of the Napoli fans at San Paolo and well shit, not sure there will be a bigger occasion all year.

I remember these sort of matches with Pep at Barca, I always felt the team were invincible and wanted the opponent to raise Barca's game and they never disappointed. This will be really the final step City will need to make under Guardiola, fully expressing that confidence & talent to overcome any opponent. I am sure that Pep sees this as a real litmus test for the mental makeup of his players. Win and win convincingly and the footballing world will collectively soil their shorts a bit
 
These are the games we have to be winning to be really considered serious contenders to win this trophy. Real Madrid went there and ran out 3-1 winners here last season so I don't see any reason why we can't show these a footballing lesson, like we did in that first 40 minutes in the first leg. No disrespect to Napoli, but they're not Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich and we should be looking at winning games like this. They're a great side Napoli, but they don't have that star quality that the Elite Clubs have. Winning would put that issue to bed, and it would be a massive statement of intent from this City side. It's a must win, because as said previously we have Shakhtar in Ukraine in the last game and then United 3 days after. United have a home game and an extra days rest, so in terms of being fresh for that one we need to take all 3 points tonight. Forget the draw, we need the 3 points!
 
Can't wait for this match, there is going to be some phenomenal football on display tonight. I'll go for a high scoring draw (3-3) or a narrow City win, 4-3.
 
Can't understand the term "let's throw this one and focus on the Arsenal game". These are footballers on millions of pounds, not people working 18 hours a day in Third World Countries. Win win and win, that's the only way forward. Keep the momentum going. A win tonight will boost the morale of our players and make us even more fearless than we already are. We rest up tonight, and get thumped and we will be a team who's laid all their eggs in one basket like we did last season when we played United in the League Cup. We were never the same team after that. A loss can knock you off your stride and make you feel like you're beatable, even if you are almost unbeatable. Wins breed confidence, and that's what we should be aiming for. The Champions League is more important to win that the league this season, and we must treat it seriously. No disrespect to Arsenal but we should win that match quite comfortably. Arsenal are a poor side this season.
 
Ric said:
I think tonight could see our first defeat of the season, but I won't be too despondent if it happens.
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totally agree.

can't say i feel nervous at all, just excited at the prospect of it.
if we lose we lose, but one thing's certain - we'll try our very best to win it.

how fortunate we are as fans to be witnessing this team's continuing growth.
 
growing more confident the nearer the game comes I think we will win. dosent really matter if we lose not too much pressure on us think we will stuff them on the counter.
 
I think this is a game City need to show they are worthy contenders to go all the way. For me this is a real test. If you win, which I think you will, it will embolden you. If you fuck up, then this will signal that you just aren't there yet. You should win and I think to put down a marker, you need to.
 
Ric said:
That's another thing I'm looking forward to - we haven't really played a side yet this season who have gone all out to beat us. Will we be able to dominate possession in our usual way at the San Paolo? If not, will be able to hurt them on the counter? It's going to be a fascinating game, can't wait.
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Was thinking exactly this myself. It's a really intriguing prospect. We're playing a seriously good team who have no room for pragmatism tonight given their current position in the group. We'll definitely find out something new about ourselves tonight whatever the result (as will a lot of other teams). I think we'll find we get plenty of chances ourselves too though. Two great teams fighting fire with fire should make for a fun spectacle either way.
 
I've gone for the win, although I'd be happy with a draw. It will be a tough game and another test of this brilliant team pep has assembled.

This is a must win game for Napoli....should be interesting
 
Ric said:
I think tonight could see our first defeat of the season, but I won't be too despondent if it happens. I'm looking forward to seeing how the team cope with such a difficult game tbh. Even with the two recent title winning sides of 2012 and 2014, I never felt particularly confident going into the biggest away games. We didn't seem to have the resilience to grind out results on the road, either domestically at places like Anfield, The Emirates or Stamford Bridge (derbies were the obvious exception) or in the biggest Champions League ties. It'll be fascinating to see if this young side can add that mental toughness to their already admirable list of qualities. If they can then the future is looking incredibly bright indeed (not that it isn't anyway).
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Have you hacked Ric's account, Big Yaya Wilko ;-)
 
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