Manchester City Begin Tough Run of Fixtures with Trip to Naples

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini faces a daunting month in which the full depths of his expensively assembled squad will be pushed to its maximum potential.

With tough away trips to Anfield and Stamford Bridge immediately following tough Champions League ties versus Napoli and Bayern Munich respectively, rotation will be key as personnel are interchanged with the club fighting for trophies on four fronts.

First up for The Blues is Napoli at the intimidating Stadium San Paolo on Tuesday. City currently reside above the Naples side in the UEFA Champions League Group A table, with seven points to Napoli's five. A win for Roberto Mancini's men would see them qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Turning over Napoli in their own backyard is easier said than done, however.

Holding an impressive record of 10 matches unbeaten since their 13-year absence from European action ended in 2008, Napoli have already beaten Villarreal and held Bayern Munich this term. The Neapolitans will gain confidence from the fact the last foreign visiting team to win at the San Paolo was Eintracht Frankfurt in 1994.

Roberto Mancini clearly had one eye already on the Champions League during this weekend's Premier League fixture with Newcastle, with the forerunner for the Barclays Player Of The Year award, David Silva, left on the substitutes' bench until the 69th minute.

Aleksandar Kolarov (Lazio) and Mario Balotelli (Internazionale) are likely to start on their returns to the peninsula, whilst Edin Dzeko—with 12 goals so far—is also fresh after completely sitting out The Citizens' 3-1 weekend victory.