Serie A PREVIEW | Napoli v Inter

Inter will aim to reclaim the Serie A top spot when they face the current Scudetto holders Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona tonight. 

Napoli will desire to get back to winning ways tonight after suffering a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the Champions League in their previous outing. A loss to Empoli in mid-November dented the Partenopei’s momentum. Still, they turned things right when Elif Elmas netted the winner versus top-four chasers Atalanta in their last league match.

Walter Mazzarri’s new era has been marked with a victory and a draw but the Italian is confident of performing far better than former manager Rudi Garcia who was sacked following the Empoli match. A thick run of crucial fixtures are coming up for the Neapolitans as they will be looking to continue their journey in the Champions League when they face Braga next and gain some momentum against Juventus after that.

Meanwhile, Inter enter this match on the back of a thrilling 3-3 draw with Benfica in the Champions League. The hosts netted three early goals and then the Nerazzurri mastered a gigantic comeback. Goals from Marko Arnautovic, Davide Frattesi and Alexis Sanchez secured an exciting draw for the already Round-of-16 qualified visitors that night.

Inter’s 5-game winning streak in the league came to an end against Juventus as the draw helped the Bianconeri to move to top spot while playing a game more than their Milanese counterparts. 

Simone’s Inzaghi’s men have won their last 11 away matches but that record could face a challenge tonight at the ‘Maradona’.

Results from their last five matches across all competitions

Napoli:

L W L D W 

Inter:

D D W W W 

Team News

Piotr Zielinski suffered an injury against Real Madrid and therefore Elif Elmas is expected to start.

Juan Jesus is set to start as a left-back after injuries to Mathias Olivera and Maio Rui. 

As for Inter, Benjamin Pavard and Alessandro Bastoni are ruled out of the match with injuries. Stefan de Vrij is predicted to start the game.

Predicted XIs

Napoli (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Natan, Jesus; Anguissa, Lobotka, Elmas; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia

Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Darmian, De Vrij, Acerbi; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez

Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN