After the thrill of the Champions League it’s back to the even more important job of qualifying for it next season. After pulling out a few surprises in his midweek team selection, it will be interesting to see who Roberto Mancini rotates in on Sunday.
Thanks to Fulham playing in the Europa League there’s an extra days rest for City’s players. That won’t be enough for Milner and de Jong who are still injured. Worryingly it’s now debatable whether the Dutch international will be back in time for the Bayern Munich game.
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Blue Days
16 September 2011
Fulham /
So this is the Champions League. An exhilerating game where City went for the win, ran out of steam, then came back to claim a draw thanks to a perfectly executed Kolarov free-kick.
If City were the team in the third pot whom everyone wanted to avoid, then Napoli were surely the fourth pot equivalent. Both sides were victims of their poor UEFA co-efficients and consequently Group A is looking to be of a particularly high standard.
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Hart – Grateful to his crossbar in the first half but suffered the indignity of a shot through his legs in the second. Also grateful to the captain for one goal line clearance. 6
Zabaleta – A steady, if unspectacular return. Levazzi never gave him chance to rest. 7
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City take on Napoli in the Etihad Stadium’s first ever Champions League game. It promises to be a special night both on and off the pitch with Roberto Mancini’s in-form team taking on an impressive Napoli attack.
One of the few concerns against Wigan on Saturday was the lack of a genuine holding midfield player as both Yaya and Milner frequently left a space between midfield and defence. Mancini is hoping Gareth Barry can return to help fill this gap. There’s no doubt either de Jong or a fully fit Owen Hargreaves would be preferable against European opponents.
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