And Roberto Mancini's Premier League leaders can now only hope Napoli slip up away to Villarreal on Matchday Six, while a victory over Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium is essential.
Cavani's double moved Napoli to eight points, but City remained on seven and now face the prospect of dropping into the Thursday night participation of the Europa League.
The night in Naples was another learning curve for a side who may be dominant domestically but are still off the pace at elite European level.
Cavani, Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi - all of whom have been linked with City - were a handful all night in an imposing atmosphere.
The level of hostility facing City in the vast arena was apparent long before kick-off and there was little let-up in the noise throughout the game.
The huge crowd were not only boisterous but had a seemingly large supply of fireworks and ear-piercing whistles greeted every spell of City possession.
City supporters were greatly outnumbered but did their best to contribute to the atmosphere by setting off a number of firecrackers themselves.
A City side showing four changes from the weekend initially seemed as though they would not let it bother them as they looked to build attacks patiently.
City boss Mancini started with Edin Dzeko up front alongside Balotelli with Sergio Aguero on the bench.
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