Man City v Napoli live: Champions League team news, line-ups and more tonight

Gianluigi Donnarumma was smiling as he said it. It would be best, he suggested, if his mother stays away from Manchester City against Napoli.

“My mum is a bit in trouble,” he said. A huge fan of the Serie A champions, her loyalties could be divided. So, perhaps, in future, could those of his young son, Leo. “I think he is going to be a true Neapolitan,” said Donnarumma.

The captain of Italy grew up idolising Gianluigi Buffon and was a prodigy of AC Milan, but he hails from Castellammare di Stabia, on the Gulf of Naples.

The temptation is to assume that the less picturesque parts of Manchester could come as a culture shock to City’s latest signing. For now, though, he exudes happiness. “It’s an honour and a pride to be here,” said a man who traded the Champions League winners, in Paris Saint-Germain, for a club who limped out of the competition without reaching the last 16 a few months ago.

Pep Guardiola is not surprised Kevin De Bruyne appears to have settled quickly at Napoli.

The former Man City playmaker joined the Serie A outfit in the summer after a decade at the Etihad Stadium and the 34-year-old returns to his old stomping ground this evening.

City manager Guardiola said: “It’s not a surprise, players at that level adapt so quick. They don’t need much time to adapt and perform well.”

Asked if he was looking forward to seeing De Bruyne, Guardiola said: “After the game, yes!”

On the Napoli front, all eyes will be on Kevin De Bruyne. He will be expected to start against his former club alongside former Manchester United star Scott McTominay in midfield, who has been a revelation in Serie A.

Romelu Lukaku, however, is out with a long-term knee injury, with United loanee Rasmus Hojlund hoping to lead the line.

Predicted Napoli XI: Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Buongiorno, Spinazzola; Lobotka; Politano, Anguissa, De Bruyne, McTominay; Hojlund

Pep Guardiola has a number of injuries to contend with going into his side’s Champions League opener, with quartet Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Mateo Kovacic all unavailable.

Meanwhile, John Stones will be assessed ahead of kick-off as he nurses a minor muscle problem.

Predicted Man City XI: Donnarumma; Lewis, Dias, Gvardiol, Ake; Rodri, Rodri; Savinho, Reijnders, Foden, Doku; Haaland

It was Manchester City, but not as we knew them. Or so the theory went, anyway. But for Manchester United, it was just the City they remembered.

In 2022, 2023 and 2024, they had been destroyed in a derby in which both Phil Foden and Erling Haaland scored. So, too, in 2025: there can be evidence of City’s decline in other games, in a league table that showed them in 16th at kick-off, but not in their latest demolition derby.

For United, history repeated itself. Second best in Manchester again, they were cut apart. For Ruben Amorim, there was a first glimpse of thousands of City fans turning their backs on the game to do the Poznan. If he could not see some of the United supporters, it was because the away end was emptying long before the final whistle.

United conjured a late victory at the Etihad a month into Amorim’s reign. There was never a danger of a repeat.

Read Richard Jolly’s full report from an impressive weekend win for City:

The big story this evening is Kevin De Bruyne’s return to the Etihad Stadium to face Man City.

By all accounts he didn’t want to leave City but wasn’t offered a new contract and so departed at the end of his deal for Napoli.

Of course, the fixture gods immediately paired the Serie A champions with Man City in the Champions League and here we are. The Belgian did a pitch walk at the ground he called home for so many years before a press conference yesterday.

Manchester City’s league phase clash with Napoli kicks off at 8pm BST on Thursday 18 September at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.

Viewers in the UK can watch the game on TNT Sports 2, with coverage starting at 7pm BST. Subscribers can also watch the game on discovery+.

Kevin De Bruyne will turn from Manchester City friend to foe as his new side Napoli pay a visit to the Etihad Stadium in their Champions League opener.

De Bruyne was pivotal to City’s success when they brought home the continent’s most coveted crown in 2023, beating another Serie A titan in Inter Milan to lift the title in Istanbul.

However, the 34-year-old’s glittering decade-long spell in Manchester came to end in the summer when he joined the Italian champions at the end of his contract.

Thursday night will mark his first return to his old stomping grounds as league leaders Napoli look to continue their fine form and thwart Pep Guardiola’s side, who have comparatively endured a mixed start to the new campaign.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Man City vs Napoli in the Champions League tonight.

It’s the Kevin de Bruyne revenge game as the Belgian returns to the Etihad Stadium to face the club where he is a legendary figure. It should be tasty