The young Blues face their Italian counterparts on Tuesday afternoon at the Academy Stadium and the manager is expecting a continuation of his side’s impressive European performances.
Though the majority of the U19 squad played in the EDS’ disappointing 3-0 loss to the Toffees on Friday night, Davies does not feel they will be suffering from a domestic hangover on Tuesday.
“I’m expecting Napoli to be quite similar to Everton,” he revealed.
“They’ll be very disciplined and aggressive. They like to soak up the pressure and hit you on the counter attack, so we’ll have to be ready for what they bring.
“But we’ll have plan and I’m sure the lads will do what they’ve done in the first two UEFA Youth League games and put in a positive performance.”
Victory over Feyenoord and Shakhtar Donetsk in their opening two contests leaves City top of Group F, two points ahead of Tuesday’s opponents.
A third successive win, against a side who are currently on five match winless run in their domestic league, would put the Blues in a commanding position to qualify for the next round.
Not only is that good for morale, says Davies, but also important ahead of a trip to Naples, for what he believes will be a difficult test for his youngsters.
“Of course, to get the win would be a massive confidence boost,” he added.
“It will be a tough game in Naples because they play on an old Astroturf pitch, so that will be difficult for sure.
“But all these games pose different challenges. We’re taking it game by game and these tests are fantastic for the lads, but they’ll need to adapt to them a little better than they did against Everton.”
The U19s face Napoli at 3pm on Tuesday 17 October.
Tickets are on sale now at mancity.com/tickets, with Seasoncard holders and Cityzens Matchday members able to claim a free ticket for the game.
