Inter Milan welcome Napoli to the San Siro on Sunday, November 10, with a place atop the standings up for grabs.
The mouth-watering clash will headline this weekend’s Serie A action and the San Siro Stadium is expected to be packed as the pacesetters go head-to-head.
This box office contest is generating plenty of buzz so ticket prices could be sold at a premium in several marketplaces. However, fans can get their Inter Milan vs Napoli tickets from Seatsnet.com at unbeatable prices.
Napoli boss Antonio Conte returns to his old stomping ground with the visitors sitting at the zenith of the Serie A log, a point separating them from the hosts.
After an unconvincing start, the Nerazzurri have managed to claw their way into second position, and they will back themselves to usurp Antonio Conte’s side.
Inter looked bereft of ideas in pre-season, and the fans were worried. Those concerns were validated when they drew their opening game with Genoa 2-2.
Wins against Lecce and Atalanta seemed to assuage the fears. But they drew against city rivals AC Monza before losing to arch-rivals AC Milan in a hotly-contested Derby della Madonnina.
However, the loss to their bitter rivals was the wake-up call they needed, and they immediately kicked into gear. They secured 3-2 wins over Udinese and Torino before downing hapless AS Roma.
Inter and Juventus played a chaotic and unforgettable 4-4 draw at the Allianz Stadium. The reigning Serie A champions missed a glorious opportunity to claim a memorable win on enemy turf.
They led 4-2 but allowed Juventus youngster Kenan Yildiz to score two late goals, forcing both sides to split the points.
Two more wins against Empoli and Venezia saw Simone Inzaghi’s men rise to second.
Their captain and talisman, Lautaro Martinez, is fit and firing after an odd start to the campaign. He netted his first goal at the San Siro in over 200 days against Venezia.
Inter have not exactly reinvented themselves, but they look sharper, fitter, and faster than at the beginning of the season when their rapacious football was reduced to a lull.
Meanwhile, Napoli have enjoyed a typically successful start to the Conte tenure. The Italian is one of the best coaches in the world, and his arrival in Naples put the rest of the league on alert.
While we wait for the relationship between Conte and club president Aurelio De Laurentiis to combust eventually, we will enjoy the beautiful football Napoli are currently delivering.
That football was not on display in their last outing when they suffered a shock home loss against an Atalanta side spearheaded by Ballon d’Or and CAF African Footballer of the Year nominee Ademola Lookman.
La Dea were efficient, turning all three of their shots on target into goals.
Lookman did the damage in the first half before Italian international Mateo Retegui laid the emphasis in the dying minutes, ending Napoli’s run of straight Serie A wins (ten unbeaten in all competitions).
The start to the season was not what Conte would have envisaged. They suffered a shocking 3-0 loss to Hellas Verona on the opening weekend, and the former Chelsea manager was not having it.
Conte apologised for the loss and promised his side would do better, and they did. They ripped Bologna and Cagliari apart and clinched a 2-1 win over Parma before an uneventful 0-0 draw with 36-time champions Juventus.
They then went on that five-game winning spree that Atalanta destroyed, and Conte will be looking for a response from his team. What better way to respond than against the Champions?
Besides the battle on the field, the tactical one in the dugouts should be just as fascinating.
Conte is one of the best in the business, but Inzaghi is not that far away with his unique interpretation of the 3-5-2 system, which the Napoli boss revived during his time at Juventus in the early 2010s.
Inzaghi is one of the underrated figures in coaching and is out to prove his mettle against his fiery opposite number. This showdown could prove important, with both sides expected to compete fiercely for the Scudetto.
Head to Head
The last time Inter and Napoli clashed at the San Siro, in March, they played a 1-1 draw as the Nerazzurri stormed to their 20th Serie A title.
It was a day of unlikely scorers as Matteo Darmian gave Inter the lead. Juan Jesus scored a late equaliser to sneak a point for the Partenopei, who finished ninth following a shambolic title defence.
Two months earlier, they met in the Italian Super Cup final, and Inter secured the title thanks to a 90+1 Martinez goal.
Inter have come out on top twice in their last five Serie A meetings, with Napoli winning once (D1). Putting their previous ten clashes under the microscope, Inter have generally had the upper hand.
Napoli have recorded only one win over the Nerazzurri in their past ten Serie A fixtures (L6, D3), and they will be desperate to set that horrendous record straight this Sunday.
Interestingly, Conte and Inzaghi have faced off four times, with the former claiming two wins while he was in charge of Inter. Inzaghi led Lazio.
Team News
Inter Milan should have a clean bill of health, barring any injuries against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League. The only absentee is Carlos Augusto, who suffered a thigh issue in the UCL clash with Young Boys and has been unavailable since then.
Midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu is back after being sidelined with a strain. The Turkiye international will be looking to take back his starting berth against Napoli.
Marcus Thuram will likely lead the line with the captain despite wasting three glorious chances against Venezia last weekend.
As for the three-time Serie A winners, they do not have Champions League football to wobble their focus and all their attention is fixed firmly on the league.
Midfield maestro Stanislav Lobotka finds himself on the injury table after going two seasons without missing a single game, and he is the only injury concern for Napoli.
Inter Milan Potential Starting Line-up:
(3-5-2): Yann Sommer; Benjamin Pavard, Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Hakan Calhanoglu, Federico DiMarco; Mehdi Taremi, Lautaro Martinez.
Napoli Potential Starting Line-up:
(4-3-3): Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Alessandro Buongiorno, Amir Rrahmani, Mathias Olivera; Scott McTominay, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Billy Gilmour; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Romelu Lukaku, Matteo Politano.
Prediction
With both teams in top form and eager to prove their title credentials, this clash at San Siro promises an intense battle. Inter Milan’s recent resurgence has brought much-needed confidence, while Napoli, despite a few setbacks, remain a formidable force under Conte.
Each side boasts a mix of experience and flair, setting the stage for a tactical duel between Conte and Inzaghi.
However, given the strengths and current momentum, this showdown could end in a 1-1 stalemate, with each team taking a share of the points as they continue their push for Serie A supremacy.
