6 Players to Watch as Manchester City Take on Napoli

When Manchester City host Napoli in the opening fixture of Champions League Group A on Tuesday night, it will be a big step for both clubs.

While both have enjoyed sporadic success in the past, this season marks debut appearances for the pair in the European Cup since its re-branding into the Champions League. 

Both sides have also come through some of their darkest times over the past two decades, suffering relegations to the lower divisions, but they have always retained staunch support from their fans throughout their troubles.

Today, however, they stand two very different clubs, those memories of struggles now long since gone. If proof were needed as such, here is a look at three players from each side who could make an instant splash in the Champions League.

Edinson Cavani

The big Uruguayan striker took Serie A by storm last season following his loan move from Palermo.

The veritable hulk of a center forward scored a monster 26 goals in 35 Serie A games last term, breaking the nicknames' club record for league goals in a season. In addition, he also netted seven times in 10 appearances for the club in the Europa League.

Hat tricks against Juventus, Sampdoria and Lazio helped make Napoli genuine title contenders for a time, but Champions League qualification was always the main aim.

Once that was achieved, there was plenty of interest in the 24-year-old, both in Italy and abroad. Napoli president Aurelio di Laurentiis did his work early though, locking the fearsome forward down to a lucrative long-term contract ready for their assault on Europe's premier club competition.

The partnership between the striker and Ezequiel Lavezzi is certain to cause plenty of panic among defenses across Europe as well as in Italy this season.

One key thing to note is the penchant of Napoli in general and Cavani in particular for scoring late goals. Last season, the team scored 21 times in the final quarter of an hour of league games, more than anyone else in the division, while Cavani scored nine of his goals last term with 80 or more minutes on the clock. 

Meanwhile, City shipped 11 in the final 15 minutes of play last season. They cannot afford to take their eyes off him for a moment.

Marek Hamsik

Along with Cavani and Lavezzi, Hamsik is makes up the attacking triumvirate that has made Napoli such a force to be reckoned with.

The Slovakia captain is a skillful, agile playmaker, able to run at defenders and pick out passes others do not see. He is one of the many exciting attacking players currently in Serie A who are helping to smash preconceptions that the league is simply full of sluggish, ultra-defensive teams.

He is not shy in front of goal either, scoring 41 times in his four seasons in southern Italy. He is already off the mark this season, too, having scored the final goal in the 3-1 win at Cesena last weekend as Serie A finally got underway.

The 24-year-old's commitment to the cause came into question on the summer when he made noises about a possible move to Milan, but between statements from his current employers and the champions, it was clear he would not be leaving the Stadio San Paolo in the transfer window.

Despite that apparent unrest, Hamsik is now embarking on a campaign which is the culmination of four years hard work he has put in at the club, and as a player who has already led his country to the knockout stage of the World Cup last year, he should not be overawed by the occasion.

Gokhan Inler

Gokhan Inler's arrival at Napoli this summer was marked in a most unusual manner. Clearly under the impression that the assembled media had no idea who they had been invited to see unveiled as the club's latest new signing, they were greeted by a tall figure striding up the the stage wearing a lion's head mask. 

Such an extravagant showing is somewhat at odds with the Switzerland international midfielder's playing style. As a deep-lying ball player, Inler is adept at providing assists, but in general mainly concerns himself with keeping possession for his side and providing key passes for others to set up the strikers.

Standing at a lean 6'0", the player of Turkish descent has enough presence in midfield to throw his weight around when the occasion calls for it and can put in a tackle too.

At 27 years of age, Inler is approaching his peak years, and the man who captained the Swiss to their famous 1-0 win over eventual champions Spain at the last World Cup will be a leader on the pitch when Napoli travel to the Allianz Arena, El Madrigal and Eastlands during their Group A campaign.

Edin Dzeko

So far this season, Dzeko has scored 14 shots in the Premier League. 10 of those have been on target and six have resulted in goals. Now that is how to start a season in fearsome form.

The Bosnian's showing this term is certainly at odds with his first five months at City following his January move from Wolfsburg when he struggled to adjust to life in the Premier League. 

But, seeing that this is a man who scored a stunning 58 goals in 83 Bundesliga games for the Wolves, including 26 in one season which helped them to the German title in 2008-09, it is not hard to see why Roberto Mancini persisted with him through his lean spell through the first half of this year.

Despite getting his season off to such an incredible start, Dzeko found himself dropped to the bench at the weekend as City turned on the style in a 3-0 home win over Wigan Athletic.

The only reason for that must surely be that Mancini plans on unleashing the 6'4" center forward on City's first foray into the Champions League alongside Sergio Aguero, who scored all three goals against the Latics.

David Silva

Ever since he joined City from Valencia a year ago, Silva's career has been on a seemingly inextricable rise. He arrived in Manchester a World Cup winner, and after a brief period of adjustment, the diminutive playmaker just keeps getting better.

Even with Dzeko and Aguero scoring for fun at this early stage, it is Silva who has been winning the most plaudits for the way he quietly goes about controlling the pace and tempo of a match with his slick passing and ball retention.

When he runs at defenders, even as he is at full speed, he seems to glide effortlessly through the opposition and has that rare ability of being able to evade tackles from all angles and sneak a pass through to a teammate in even the most congested of areas.

He has already notched up two assists this season to add to the nine he registered during his debut year in England. As for scoring goals himself, he has two to his name after four league games so far, already half his league total for last term. The 25-year-old is already a very decent bet for Player of the Year.

Already a Champions League veteran from his time at the Mestalla, Silva will be worth his weight in gold as City venture into unknown territory for the club, if not most of the playing squad. 

Micah Richards

Along with goalkeeper Joe Hart, Richards is one of only two players who were at City before the whole billionaire revolution kicked off, first via the fortunes of Thaksin Shinawatra and latterly Sheikh Mansour.

For all the defenders that have been brought to the club on big money by Sven-Goran Eriksson, Mark Hughes and Mancini, Richards has remained a key part of the squad. He has closing in rapidly on 200 appearances for City in all competitions, and he is still just 23 years old. This season, he has played in each and every one of City's five matches.

The powerful right back has a sprinter's build and the pace to match, and any opposition left back not fully alert to the threat he poses going forward may quickly find themselves chasing him to the byline in vain.

The raw potential that saw him win the first of his 12 England caps all the way back in 2006 has been gradually honed into a far more consistent player, and as part of a team pushing for the title and playing in the Champions League, it may be only a matter of time before he is threatening to make that slot in the national team his own.