Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Serie A clash between Napoli and Inter Milan, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Headlining this Serie A weekend, last term’s top two will clash on Saturday evening, as reigning champions Napoli welcome Inter Milan to Stadio Maradona.
Locked together on 15 points, the sides experienced very different European fortunes in midweek, but they now convene in Naples for an early Scudetto showdown.
Match preview
Since returning from the last international break, injury-hit Napoli have finally run out of fortune, having previously scraped their way to several unconvincing wins.
After losing 1-0 to Torino last weekend, the Italian champions then took on their Dutch counterparts in the Champions League, visiting PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.
Despite taking the lead through talisman Scott McTominay, the Azzurri shipped four second-half goals in a crushing 6-2 defeat, with misfiring striker Lorenzo Lucca getting himself sent off.
That setback stung head coach Antonio Conte, who had already seen his team lose two of their last three Serie A matches – as many as across the previous 31.
Yet, as he prepares to host his former club – who he memorably helped Napoli pip to last season’s Scudetto – Conte’s side still have a proud home record to protect.
Scoring each time – and recording 12 wins along the way – they are unbeaten in 15 Serie A home matches since last December, while winning each of their first three league fixtures at the Maradona in the current campaign.
Over the past few years, Napoli and Inter have been closely matched, drawing their last three encounters 1-1; the pair could go head-to-head again in this season’s title race, but Conte’s men must first stop the rot.
By contrast with their faltering hosts, Inter will head south to Campania in superb form, having racked up seven straight wins across all competitions.
Since losing to old foes Juventus in September, the Nerazzurri have been flawless in Serie A – and they backed that up in the Champions League by beating the Belgian title-holders.
Inter ran out comfortable 4-0 winners away to Union Saint-Gilloise on Tuesday night, as two goals just before the break effectively killed off the contest.
While Napoli are lagging behind in the giant league-phase table, the Milan club have accrued maximum points so far, and they are yet to concede a single goal in a competition they have twice come close to winning over the past few years.
Cristian Chivu‘s men had previously defeated in-form Roma at Stadio Olimpico, as Ange-Yoan Bonny took his tally of goal involvements to five from two matches either side of the international break.
Only deputising for his injured compatriot Marcus Thuram, the French striker forms part of Italy’s most potent attack: Inter have scored 18 goals in seven Serie A matches, with a league-high nine different players inking their names on the scoresheet.
Furthermore, the Nerazzurri have kept four clean sheets in their last five top-flight away games – the only exception being their freakish 4-3 defeat to Juve in the Derby d’Italia.
Rookie coach Chivu must now pit his wits against a proven managerial master, but he does so from an unexpectedly strong position.
Napoli Serie A form:
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Napoli form (all competitions):
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Inter Milan Serie A form:
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Inter Milan form (all competitions):
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Team News
Napoli’s attack was already missing ex-Inter man Romelu Lukaku before Rasmus Hojlund suffered a thigh strain in training, but Conte will also be without his most productive striker on Saturday.
David Neres could fill in as a false nine or Lucca may deputise again, leading a front line also featuring former Inter winger Matteo Politano, who has scored three times against the Nerazzurri since leaving.
The hosts are still without defensive rock Amir Rrahmani and midfield fulcrum Stanislav Lobotka; goalkeeper Alex Meret has fractured a toe, so Vanja Milinkovic-Savic will continue between the posts.
Like Lukaku and Conte, Inter midfielder Piotr Zielinski switched sides – having made 364 appearances and scored 51 goals for Napoli – but he is likely to take a familiar seat on the bench.
Several regulars were rested on Tuesday, and they should all return this weekend, when Thuram will again be sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Either Bonny, who scored his first Serie A goal at the Maradona for Parma, or Italy striker Francesco Pio Esposito should partner Inter captain Lautaro Martinez up front.
The latter has scored five career goals against Napoli, but none in Serie A since 2022. Meanwhile, breakthrough star Esposito recently registered his first strikes in Serie A, the Champions League and at senior international level.
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Buongiorno, Spinazzola; Gilmour; Politano, Anguissa, De Bruyne, McTominay; Lucca
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Akanji, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Bonny, Martinez
We say: Napoli 1-1 Inter Milan
Though Napoli are ailing and Inter have been flying, the hosts are notoriously tough to beat in Naples.
A run of three straight defeats is unthinkable for Italy’s reigning champions, and they can halt their visitors’ success streak by fighting out a low-scoring draw.
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