Blues in twos: Manchester City v Napoli

Amongst the first set of Champions League games to be played this week is an interesting little tie on Wednesday which will see Manchester City come up against Italy's very own Sky Blues in S.S.C Napoli. This will be both sides' debut in the current form of the competition, although Napoli have played in Europe on a number of occasions, mainly in the 1980s (Maradona, titles, bungs, kits sponsored by Mars.. It was all a bit mental). Indeed, the Partenopei were crowned Serie A champions on twice, first in 1986-87 - winning the Coppa Italia in the same year - and 1989-90. Success in Europe came just a year after their last title in the form of a UEFA cup win but the achievement also marked their gradual decline (Maradona + cocaine, more bungs and relegation.. It was still mental, but only if you weren't a fan). City on the other hand have only competed for the European Cup once: in 1968-69 where they were knocked out in the first-round by Turkish side Fenerbahce. Things have drastically changed since, mainly down to money. But this doesn't necessarily apply to just the one side.

Inler- More than a nutter

To take no prisoners for a moment, Manchester City football club have demonstrated just how far a mediocre side can go in the modern game by using fistfuls of English currency to plug gaping holes in their roster. Napoli have done this themselves, but to a much lesser extent, with no signs of over-spending and using Euros. Current stars Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Hugo Campagnaro all commanded fees of above 5 million, while this season has seen Edinson Cavani make his loan move from Palermo permanent for 16 million, and midfielder Gokhan Inler prized from Udinese for 13 million (please imagine the Euro signs. Thanks, Blogspot). That isn't to say that the club is built on marquee signings, though. During the clubs 2004-05 season spent in Serie C, their average attendance of 38,760 ranked 26th in the standings for Europe, beating the crowds of Arsenal, Lazio and Lyon among others. Trouble has never been far from round the corner however, and it was that very season that saw the club file for bankruptcy before being bought out by Italian film producer and Naples native Aurelio De Laurentiis. Despite losing their first attempt at promotion following a 2-1 defeat in the play-offs to local rivals Avellino, they've made short work of every obstacle in their way since. The feat of promotion to Serie B in 2006 was surpassed with ease by another leap up ladder to the top tier just 12 months later. They finished 8th, then 11th, then 6th in 2009-10 and following a top three finish last season, are now regarded as one of the best teams in the country under their current boss, Walter Mazzarri. The cause has been aided by the growth of players like Hamsik, Lavezzi and Walter Gargano, who all came good for Napoli after their moves, and the same crop won't by any means roll-over for City on Wednesday.

Pandev- CL winner with Jose

Napoli have, or had, a wonderful 4-3-3. I say had as it was a slightly unorthodox 4-1-2-1-2 that comfortably beat a 10-man Cesena 3-1 in their opening game of the Serie A season on Saturday. Few sides in Europe can boast a better front three than Napoli with Hamsik, Lavezzi and Cavani, but it fails to accommodate new signings like Goran Pandev, right-midfielder Christian Maggio and former Fiorentina attacking-midfielder Mario Santana. Although the names Napoli host aren't as box office as some of City's, Sky Blues boss Roberto Mancini will be more than aware of the threat posed by their upcoming opponents. Both Lavazzi and Hamsik were scouted as possible targets in the early stages of the transfer window just gone before the board allegedly decided the prices quoted were a little dear and started to pursue Sergio Aguero instead. Putting two players that Mancini wanted down either flanks and having Italy's top marksman, Cavani, attacking through the middle should give Joleon Lescott something to think about at the very least. Despite their habit of switching between three and four at the back, they're also known for having a very disciplined defence. In fact, only one side in Serie A conceded less goals last season: with just 24 beating their impressive 39, champions AC Milan. Although some of their other names that were signed from fellow Italian clubs may escape the minds of the City fans, followers of the league will be more than familiar with the Napoli squad that will walk out against the odds. And that's another talking point: the odds.

Mazzari- Strength to strength 

Mazzarri's side are a massive 9/1 to win, with a draw on at 4/1. Now, certain fans will read this and recall Steven Gerrard coming off the bench for Liverpool last season to notch an impressive 15 minute hat-trick against the Partenopei in their Europa League group K game at Anfield (the game ending 3-1). Its also worth noting that the Napoli squads that included the much talked about front-three only managed one goal in both home and away ties, but there are a number of reasons why things could go differently this time around. Cavani, for example, was only into his third month at the club and showed his best form at the tail end of the campaign. Players like Andrea Dossena, ironically signed from Liverpool, and other new recruits were also only in their honeymoon period at the time; acquired in 2010 by Mazzarri to help strengthen the squad and allow them to compete with the best in their league. Compete they did, and their third place finish highlighted how far the team had come. With every game the team seem to become stronger and wins against the likes of Roma and Juventus have put them up there with Italy's elite.

The truth is, such is their home form that Napoli won't necessarily feel they have to win this game. Last season, captain and defensive stalwart Paolo Cannavaro led his back-line into four months worth of games without conceding at home. Their attendances also - boosted by their loyal 'ultras' - are set to play a massive part in transferring their home form in Italy onto the European scene. This could be highly effective against City, who seemed all but knocked-out after a 2-0 loss in Ukraine at the hands of Dynamo Kiev in last season's Europa League campaign, the 1-0 win in the return leg not enough to keep them in the competition. A win against Red Bull Salzburg helped ease worries that their new big money signings wouldn't be up for braving the cold trips away from home, but they were brought crashing down to earth with a 3-1 defeat just months later to Polish side Lech Poznan, who went on to finish 5th in their domestic league. They also failed to score in their draw with Aris in the round of 32 before the knockout game in Kiev. Whether City will travel better now they're in-form and settled is up for question, but Napoli will definitely fancy their chances of getting a result, whatever they might perceive that to be.

Manchester City v Napoli will be live on Sky Sports 2 at 7:45pm

The Old Firm in Europe- A harsh reality

Speaking on Goals on Sunday yesterday morning, Christian Dailly reminisced about his time spent at Rangers between 2008-09. The defender said that the Old Firm clubs are like any other, in that they want to be playing the best in the world. He accepted that Scottish football seems to be on a downward spiral of late, but its hard for the fans not to believe they can perform in Europe year in, year out. Celtic will look back fondly on their UEFA Cup final appearance in 2003 and Champions League wins against the likes of AC Milan in 2007, whereas Rangers past three seasons ending with the league trophy in their hands, not to mention their 2008 UEFA cup final appearance, has quite rightly enhanced the fans belief that they can perform in Europe. However, this season- like any other- I believe is (for Rangers, was) different, and I think they believe they should be competing with the worlds elite without good reason..

SPL- Ranked 13th 

Aside from their fixtures in the SPL, their main opportunity to do so is of course in Europe. The SPL's thirteenth placing in UEFA's coefficient ranks in 2009 meant that for the 2010-11 season, the two clubs at the top of the table qualified for the Champions League, with 3rd and 4th position qualifying for the Europa League. Another Europa League place is on offer for the side that wins the Scottish cup, which is often passed over to the cup runners-up or 5th place in the league due to clubs in the final usually qualifying for Europe on league position alone. Qualification is needed for each team to progress through to the group stages, but the fans of Celtic and Rangers don't seem to think their team should encounter any kind of problems at this stage. The opportunities to compete with the best are there, but they're rarely taken.

One thing that always astounds me is the naivety on show by some groups of the Old Firm support. Of course, as the old chant goes, every club from Chelsea in Premier League to Rag-Arse Rovers in the Premier brand lager League believes they're the best around. Bookmakers usually offer punters low prices for Rangers and Celtic to see off their opponents in the early rounds of Europe, and the fans more than expect them to do so. Yet once again, both sides slumped to aggregate defeats to Swiss side, FC Sion, and Slovenia's NK Maribor on their way out of Europe. This was seen as an outrage to many, but when stripping the squads down, you have to wonder why this is. One thing that Dailly also said on GOS was that although Rangers have a small squad, the quality of the players that they do have- at which point Dailly mentioned Steven Davis- are world-class. This I believe is simply not the case, and from my reckoning its been a while since either club has recruited a string of players capable of competing in Europe.  

Majstorovic- A good find

I'll start off with Celtic, and what I believe are some of their better players. Former Derby player Kris Commons has hit a string with fans, scoring in 11 of his 14 appearances last season. Influential midfielder Joe Ledley is another player whose career has been spent in the English second tier, and the Wales international seems at home with his surroundings. Some of their other internationals include the 'Derry Pele', Paddy McCourt, Swede defender Daniel Majstorovic and Honduran Emilio Izaguirre. Also, one thing that Celtic have done well with recently is managing to fit new, youthful signings into their first-team. Beram Kayal started over 20 games in his debut season last year, while 22-year-old Ki Sung-Yueng has attracted interest from a host of Premier League clubs since his move in August 2009. The question is, are these players capable of bigger things? Despite numerous Celtic players departing to play for their country during breaks, the nations they represent aren't the ones putting themselves about in major tournaments. With Sweden currently standing at 18th in Fifa's new rankings, Majstorovic's 40 caps for his country highlights him as a key figure in a side made up of players from South Korea (33rd), Honduras (50th), Morocco (61st) and of course Scotland (55th). They have the makings of a good team, but with the exception of a few rough diamonds, not one that should be expected to cruise through qualifying rounds.

Davis- World class?

The same goes for Rangers. As mentioned earlier, Davis is thought to be one of the best in the team, but his record alone speaks for itself. A youngster with Aston Villa, the Northern-Ireland born midfielder went onto make over 102 appearances in all competitions before losing his place in the side and moving to Fulham. He failed to settle at Craven Cottage, and moved to Ibrox after just one season. He has since seemed to pick himself up and is now certainly one of the first names on Ally McCoist's team sheet, but many will put this down to playing the likes of  St.Mirren and Inverness week in week out as opposed to Arsenal and Liverpool. Nikica Jelavic is a player I truly believe can play at a much higher level than the SPL, but the same can't be said however for his teammates in Kyle Lafferty, David Healy and Maurice Edu. These are all names that have found their feet in the SPL but also have caps for countries largely considered to be second rate on the international scene. In fact, very rarely do players leave Scottish clubs for both a figure over £1m and a better club. As Celtic seem to be investing in prospects (right-back Adam Matthews was allegedly on Alex Ferguson's radar from a very young age) and Rangers seem to have a good crop of talent emerging from their academy, the trend could be bucked. However, were getting to the point where this does need to happen if the league is to enhance its reputation.

This isn't a dig at either team. I know the money coming through from TV deals and sponsorship is significantly less than some of the figures received by some of the other sides in Europe this season. However, money, the careers of the squad players before there time in Scotland as well as their performances against European opposition all have to be accounted for when facing the reality that some groups of fans are yet to come to grips with. Looking at the Celtic side that defeated Milan in 2007, the starting XI features a number of proven names to accompany some of the Scottish internationals, something that the current side is lacking. Artur Boruc, Aiden McGeady and an in-form Shunsuke Nakamura took to the pitch at Celtic Park that night; playing their part in an incredible victory against a star-studded Rossoneri: Kaka, Pirlo, Nesta and all. Players, and more importantly, the money to buy players of this quality isn't as present in Scottish football, so expectations should slightly lowered as a result.

Celtic- Reinstated

In a recent turn of events, Celtic have been reinstated into this years Europa League following unsuccessful appeals lodged by FC Sion after their coach, Laurent Roussey, fielded a number of ineligible players during their aggregate 3-1 win over the Hoops in the play-off round. If the same level of arrogance that's been apparent in the past seasons qualifying campaigns is still there, one look at the group they now find themselves in should limit at least some fans expectations of cruising through to latter stages. Winners of the 2010 cup, Atletico Madrid might have lost Kun Aguero to Manchester City, but have gained a 2011 winner with Porto in his replacement, Radamel Falcao. Even without Alexis Sanchez and midfielder Gokhan Inler, Udinese showed they were no pushovers when facing Arsenal in the Champions League qualifying round, whereas Ligue 1 side, Rennes, are on the rise to becoming a force to be reckoned with in French football thanks to a host of promising youth players coming through their ranks. Even so, Celtic will be up for the task at hand, and the experience of playing against some of the worlds best could inspire the likes of Scott Brown, Gary Hooper and McCourt to raise their game to the required standard. There can be no question that they're the underdogs, but they should be up to the task of giving it a go. Its not pessimism, its reality.