De Jong eyes successful Italian job

Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong hopes Tuesday's crucial Champions League clash at Napoli passes without a hitch on and off the field.

City can clinch a place in the knockout stage of Europe's elite competition with victory over their Group A rivals at the San Paolo Stadium. Yet anything less would give Napoli a chance and leave City with the daunting task of having to beat Bayern Munich in their final game to guarantee progress.

The atmosphere in Naples is likely to be intimidating and De Jong said: "There is going to be an intensity because they are fighting for the last chance. Everybody knows the stories about Napoli and their fans. It is going to be an exciting game."

He added: "Hopefully everybody can remain quiet and go there for the football game. We have to be focused on that. As long as the challenge is on the pitch I will be up for the task.

"Let's just do the talking on the pitch. That goes for the whole team."

City boss Roberto Mancini has warned his team to prepare for a different challenge and is expecting a contest unlike any other so far this season.

Mancini's side have swept almost all before them on the domestic front, powering to a five-point lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League with 11 wins in 12 games.

The Italian said: "The team is in good form. Every game is difficult but we are playing every three days - it is hard.

"It will be a very difficult game for us. For us it's the first time so I don't know if it will be possible but for this reason we want to try to get into the second stage. After that anything can happen because we are a good team, we can improve a lot."