Reigning Serie A champions Napoli will host current Serie A league leaders Inter Milan on Sunday at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Inter Milan lead Serie A by two points over rivals Juventus. The Nerazzurri came from behind a week ago to draw 1-1 with Juventus in a top of the table clash. Now, Simone Inzaghi takes the Nerazzurri to Naples, aiming for a big win to stay atop the standings.
Napoli sacked Rudi Garcia and replaced him with Walter Mazzarri. The former Watford coach claimed a 2-1 win in round No. 13 after returning to Napoli. He is now aiming for a second straight league victory.
Mazzarri will also hope to resurrect Napoli’s title challenge. The Partenopei are currently in fourth place, with 24 points.
They trail Inter by eight points ahead of the weekend. A win could cut that lead to five points.
An Inter defeat to Napoli would allow Juventus to move into first place, as long as they win their match versus Monza.
Indeed, Inter are likely to begin Sunday’s match in second place, as Juventus play Monza on Friday night. A Juventus win would put additional pressure on Inter.
The last six matches in all competitions between these clubs saw the home team go unbeaten. Inter claimed a 1-0 win at San Siro last term before Napoli won 3-1 in Naples. If history holds up, Inter could drop points on their trip south.
The Nerazzurri took 14 points from the last 18 points on offer in the league. Eleven goals were scored and just four conceded by Inter during those six games.
Napoli, on the other hand, picked up 10 points from the last six fixtures in Serie A. The defence allowed eight goals to opponents but the attack scored 10 times.
Both clubs played in midweek in the Champions League. Napoli fell 4-2 to Real Madrid in Spain, while Inter drew 3-3 in a wild match against Benfica in Lisbon.
Inter striker Lisandro Martinez leads Serie A in scoring, with 13 goals. He has tallied 43% of Inter’s goals this term.
Napoli’s Victor Osimhen has bagged six goals this term. Osimhen appears to be fit for the fixture.
However, Mazzarri will be without Mathias Olivera due to a knee injury. Jesper Linstrom is out with an ankle issue and Mario Rui is also out with a muscle strain.
Inzaghi could be without all-arounder Denzel Dumfries due to a muscle strain. The duo of Alessandro Bastoni and Benjamin Pavard are both ruled out with injuries. The three injured players will put a strain on Inter’s defence.
Despite Napoli’s recent good form against Inter at home, the Nerazzurri should take the spoils in Naples.
Napoli are not the team they were last season under Luciano Spalletti. Inter should post a 2-0 win and remain top of the Serie A standings.