As good and Napoli have been and as many football fans as they've won thus far, they are yet to truly be tested.
How good are this Napoli team? Are they the real deal?
I've loved Napoli's football for a long time. Since the days of Mazzarri, with Cavani and Lavezzi in the team. It's why they were my team of choice when I used to play FIFA.
Pro is better.
Under Sarri, they have been really good to watch. Their attractive and positive brand of football has been refreshing to see from an Italian team, as we are normally accustomed to seeing a more pragmatic approach to the game.
As they travel o the Etihad, they will be facing the best attacking side in Europe right now, and how they fare will tell us how good this Napoli team is.
The odds are against them. With City putting seven past the last team that came to the Etihad, Sarri will have to come up with a very careful gameplan to try and come away with a result.
It's one of those games where I don't think Napoli have the luxury of turning up and just sticking to their gameplan. An adjustment will need to be made based off the opponent.
It's setup to be an end-to-end game because both sides love to go forward, and play football in a positive way. So for us football fans it should be a great watch, as who doesn't like two attacking teams slug it out?
But that's not what Sarri wants.
If this is a shootout, City will smoke Napoli. They have the better players, playmakers and finishers. Napoli won't be able to survive if they open themselves up to the likes of Jesus, Sané and De Bruyne.
We've seen what they can do to teams who don't even try and come at them. Imagine if they are given space?
Sarri I think will respect City's quality and will try and restrict the movement of Silva and De Bruyne. He'll have to instruct Hamsik, Jorginho and co to work hard, press and make it hard for City to settle into their passing game.
With the likes of Dries Mertens and Insigne, they are going to have to really use the few moments they have of the ball. Patience will be key, and how Mertens and Insigne can combine to force Otamendi and Stones into coming out of position will be Napoli's way of getting a result.
City defence is still their achilles heel and it's the one way of teams trying to topple them. But Pep is smart enough to know that, and will make sure that his defence does as little defending as possible.
It's Sarri's job to make sure Otamendi and Stones are worked and put through their paces in the game.
I'm anxious to see how Napoli do. I don't expect them to win, as they are inferior to a very good City team who are playing some top-level football.
But if Napoli can match up to City, and even if they lose, can still make it close, it will put them in good stead for the rest of their Champions League run. HH
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