Serie A: Inter Look to Trip up Leaders Napoli

Inter Milan vs Napoli

The Serie A season returns from its post-World Cup break in full force with a complete 10-match midweek slate. And without a doubt, the biggest matchup of the round is between runaway leaders Napoli and Inter Milan at the San Siro.

The Neapolitans have been nearly unstoppable this season. They are still unbeaten in 15 games and are riding an 11-game winning streak to open up an 8-point lead atop the Serie A standings.

They will now put that winning run on the line against fifth-place Inter, who also went into the break on a fine run of six wins in seven to remain in the hunt for a Champions League place.

Talking Points

Inter back to their best

It was a tale of two halves for Inter Milan during the pre-World Cup portion of the season. The Nerazzurri had a disastrous start to the season as they lost four of their first eight games.

But the 2020-21 champions finally picked things up after that as they won six of their last seven games. They bounced back from their 2-0 loss to rivals Juventus in the Derby d’Italia by beating Bologna 6-1 at Atalanta 3-2 in Bergamo in their last two games before the World Cup break.

What’s more impressive is that Simone Inzaghi’s side were able to go on that long winning run despite being without star striker Romelu Lukaku, who had been sidelined with a thigh injury.

The lengthy break has given Lukaku enough time to recover from his injury woes, and he will be set to return to action against Napoli.

However, it remains to be seen whether Inzaghi will immediately return to the tried and tested front two of Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez or stick with Edin Dzeko as one of the starting strikers. The 36-year-old Dzeko has remained quite effective this season with six goals in 15 appearances, including three goals and an assist in the last two games.

Lautaro, who is coming off a World Cup-winning campaign with Argentina, could very well use a bit more time off. Aside from failing to score in all six of the World Cup games he appeared in, Lautaro had also scored just once in his previous six appearances for Inter.

Napoli resume title hunt

Napoli’s over-three-decade-long Serie A title drought might be coming to an end. The Partenopei’s Serie A 2023 odds of winning that long-awaited Scudetto as looking great as they restart the season with an eight-point lead at the top.

The Neapolitans have been sensational all season long. They are still unbeaten in Serie A (13 wins, 2 draws) and are the leading scorers with 37 goals.

Luciano Spalletti will have a virtually full-strength squad to choose from in their first game after the break, which is a huge boost for him. Centre-back Amir Rrahmani is back after missing the last couple of months due to injury, although veteran Juan Jesus is still likely to start alongside South Korean international Kim Min-Jae, who is being linked with a move to Manchester United.

Meanwhile, Napoli’s top two forwards – Victor Osimhen and breakout star Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia – are both fresh and ready to create more Premier League 2023 highlights after the break. The two have combined for 15 goals and 7 assists this season, with the red-hot Osimhen scoring 7 goals in his last six 6 games.

Napoli possess perhaps the deepest pool of attackers in Serie A this season, with Hirving Lozano/Matteo Politano, Giovanni Simeone, Giacomo Raspadori, and Eljif Elmas to call upon off the bench.

History

The recent head-to-head record between these two clubs has been as close as it gets. Both Napoli and Inter have won nine games apiece, and they’ve also drawn nine times in their last 27 Serie A meetings.

However, Inter have had the upper hand in recent years. The Nerazzurri have won five of the last 10 meetings, with four draws and just one defeat. Moreover, they have beaten Napoli in each of their last four visits to the San Siro. Inter won last season’s fixture 3-2 thanks to goals from Hakan Calhanoglu, Ivan Perisic, and Lautaro.

Betting Tip

SBOTOP odds have Inter Milan installed as the slight 2.33 favourites to win at the San Siro. Leaders Napoli are not far behind at 2.92, while a draw is priced at 3.35.

While Napoli have been in fantastic form all season long, travelling to the San Siro to face a similarly in-form Inter will be a tough task. Look for the Nerazzurri to give Napoli all they can handle, but the leaders should have enough about them to pick up a point.

 

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