Manchester City will face Napoli in the opening game of their Champions League campaign on Thursday and the Italian side come into the game on the back of impressive form.
They have won all three games in Serie A, and at the weekend they beat Fiorentina 3-1.
Antonio Conte’s side have conceded just one goal in the league and even if Manchester City will come into the match after a convincing 3-0 win over Manchester United, ex-Italy forward Paolo Di Canio isn’t too impressed by them.
He spoke to [Il Mattino](https://www.ilmattino.it/sport/sscnapoli/napoli_champions_festa_intervista_paolo_di_canio-9067858.html) about the upcoming European clash between the two sides and described the Citizens as an ‘amateur’ side who will be exposed on the counter-attack.
Di Canio told the newspaper: _“This is a great opportunity and we need to seize it immediately. From what we’ve seen in the first few games, they’re in disarray at the back._
_“They’ve brought in a lot of new players, and when they lose the ball, they’re almost an amateur team. Before, anyone who went to play against City respected them, but now, even if City are up 3-0, everyone knows they can recover.”_
The Italian made it clear that Napoli should be able to reach the next round of the Champions League, despite Antonio Conte’s poor track record in Europe.
_“I’d say Napoli doesn’t have the caliber to contend for the Champions League, but the path they’re on can certainly help. The single group stage is absolutely within the Azzurri’s reach, and they have to get through it.”_
Di Canio is clearly not convinced that Manchester City are favourites against Napoli and there’s perhaps some truth to that.
Even though Pep Guardiola’s side beat Manchester United on Sunday, there were periods of struggle against a weak opponent.
This is something Napoli can definitely work on. They are known to be very good at breaking with pace and that was key to their Serie A title win last season.