Maurizio Sarri is convinced Wednesday’s Champions League Group F opponent Manchester City is the greatest team in Europe.

The Napoli manager witnessed the slick one-touch passing and swift tempo of Pep Guardiola’s side first-hand when he took his outfit to the Etihad Stadium on Oct. 17. Manchester City won 2-1, and was particularly dominant in the first half.

Sarri told BBC Sport he identifies the Premier League leader as “the best team in Europe, led by the best coach in Europe” as he prepares to stymie City in the midweek clash. Guardiola’s men require a draw or a win at the Stadio San Paolo to book their route into the knockout rounds with two matches to spare.

The first meeting between the two teams garnered plenty of attention due to the similar tactical approaches of the coaches. Although Guardiola and Sarri took very different routes to their current managerial posts, both are advocates of attacking, on-the-floor football and a relentless high press.

Related: Guardiola, Sarri take vastly different paths to Champions League tilt

Guardiola previously described Sarri as “one of the coaches I admire the most.”

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

“They have a devastating force of impact on matches and they have scored so many of their goals in the first 20 minutes,” Sarri continued.

“Their matches have all been over by the 70th minute. They deserve great credit for what they did in the first match, no one has escaped our pressing like that.”

Sarri is understandably wary about City’s visit. The Lancashire club has won 14 matches and drawn once so far this season, and in its other Group F fixtures, City dismissed Feyenoord and Shakhtar Donetsk with an aggregate scoreline of 6-0.

In an effort to ensure a heated atmosphere doesn’t boil over at the Stadio San Paolo, fans will be asked to remove their belts before entering the venue, according to BBC Sport’s Simon Stone. A Napoli fan was jailed for five months after using a belt to attack supporters in a pub near the Etihad Stadium two weeks ago.

Radja Nainggolan insists he “never even thought of being somewhere else” despite constant links to a transfer to Chelsea.

The Roma midfielder will face the Blues in Tuesday’s Champions League group-stage meeting, and claims he’s content with his decision in the summer despite previously declaring the English top flight is “the best league in the world.”

“I made my choice and I’ve never even thought of being somewhere else,” Nainggolan told ESPN FC’s Ben Gladwell before the midweek clash. “I’m focused here, as I always have been.

“The question (of regretting not being a Chelsea player) makes no sense. Whether it’s against Chelsea or any other big team, each player gets motivated for games like these.”

Instead of signing Nainggolan, Antonio Conte added Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater to his midfield in the summer. Still, during recent injury layoffs for the latter and N’Golo Kante, Chelsea looked light in numbers in the middle of the park – a slot Nainggolan would’ve assumed with his committed tackling and inclination to drive forward with the ball.

Roma manager Eusebio Di Francesco said Nainggolan would start in Chelsea’s visit to the Stadio Olimpico, setting up the tantalising prospect of the Belgian squabbling with fit-again Kante and Bakayoko in the Italian capital.

Liverpool’s reported attempt to lure FC Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas to Anfield in January has been described as “crazy” by the Spanish international’s agent.

The Reds have struggled to find a consistent performer between the pipes this term, as Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius fail to produce performances worthy of a No. 1 ‘keeper in the Premier League.

Porto’s apparent eagerness to offload the former Real Madrid goalkeeper has added fuel to Liverpool’s reported interest, but agent Carlo Cutropia defiantly quashed a potential move to the Premier League club.

“Of the crazy stuff I have seen, this is the craziest,” Cutropia said, as translated by Sky Sports.

“It is crazy and there is no truth in it. Casillas is calm and happy at Porto and he wants to play, logically, just like any footballer. I believe that Iker and the manager speak every day, but there are issues between the manager and the player.

“You have to give it time but there is complete calm. I am reading many things in the press, everything is false, and it leaves me surprised, and that is it.”

Along with Liverpool, Newcastle is also reportedly interested in signing Casillas once the winter transfer window opens.

The World Cup-winning shot-stopper started the season as Porto’s preferred option until manager Sergio Conceicao dropped the 36-year-old in favour of Jose Sa, who has started the last three matches.

Casillas appeared in over 700 matches for Real Madrid before moving to Portugal in 2015. Since his transfer to Porto, Casillas has maintained 44 clean sheets in 93 matches.

FIFA’s Best award ceremony has come to a close, and the lucky winners now celebrate their individual accolades in London before returning to footballing action later in the week.

Cristiano Ronaldo walked away with the Best Men’s Player award, while Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane took home the Best Men’s Coach award. But who voted for them? There were a few interesting selections.

Messi votes for Neymar

Despite Neymar making a huge switch to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer transfer window, his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi still gave the Brazilian a vote as captain of Argentina. Messi gave his first-place vote to Luis Suarez, and his second-place vote to Andres Iniesta, but tipped Neymar third.

He also voted for Luis Enrique for the head coach award, as well as Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone.

Manuel Neuer goes off the board

Rather than picking between Messi or Ronaldo, Germany shot-stopper Manuel Neuer opted to vote for his compatriot Toni Kroos as well as his Bayern Munich teammates Robert Lewandowski and Arturo Vidal, in that order. There was no hard feelings for recently-fired Bayern boss Carlo Ancelotti, either, as Neuer voted the Italian second, behind Joachim Low and ahead of Pep Guardiola.

Zidane the heavy favourite

Of the 458 votes cast by national team captains, managers, and members of media, Zidane was the clear favourite for the Best Men’s Coach award. In fact, the French tactician was given a vote by nearly every single person. He earned 350 first-place votes, and was also included as either second or third 72 times out of the remaining 108 voters.

Ronaldo snubs Fernando Santos?

Cristiano Ronaldo pulled no punches in his ballot, voting solely for his Real Madrid teammates Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos, and Marcelo. He did not give a nod to Portugal boss Fernando Santos, however, giving his coach’s votes to Zidane, Jose Mourinho, and Leonardo Jardim of AS Monaco.

Worth a nod or two

Players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Paulo Dybala, and N’Golo Kante broke through the endless void of Ronaldo and Messi votes from time to time, but there were a few strange choices in the list. Captains from San Marino, Costa Rica, Dominica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala all saw fit to cast a vote for Real Madrid shot-stopper Keylor Navas. Spain manager Julen Lopetegui gave Dani Carvajal the nod, as did the captain and head coach of Sudan. Finally, Brazil manager Tite – whose work has gone largely unnoticed in Europe – earned a respectable 41 votes. Not too shabby.