Inter face Napoli in top-of-the-table clash.
Inter vs
Napoli
As Inter Milan and Napoli clash at the San Siro on Sunday evening, the Nerazzurri aim to leapfrog their Serie A rivals amidst a backdrop of recent dominance and Napoli's quest to avoid successive defeats for the first time since December 2023.
Inter
A hard-fought 1-0 win over Arsenal, thanks to Hakan Çalhanoğlu's penalty in the first half, ensured Inter remained unbeaten in the UEFA Champions League. "It's a very important victory, hard-fought, and against a very strong team that challenged us, especially on set pieces," Simone Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia after the win.
Inter secured a similar 1-0 win over Venezia in their last Serie A game, having survived a late scare after the VAR came to the rescue. The Nerazzurri [WWDWW] have 24 points, just one point adrift of table-topping Napoli, whom they will now look to leapfrog when both sides meet on Sunday.
The hosts have dominated recent meetings between both sides, winning six of the last 10 Serie A fixtures [6W, 3D, 1L]. Since 2018-19, no team has picked up more Serie A wins against the visitors than Inter.
Furthermore, Napoli are the team against whom Inter have won the most home matches in Serie A, with 51 victories in 78 such games, including each of the last four. A 3—5—2 formation with Marcus Thuram, who started from the bench in the narrow win over Arsenal, and Lautaro Martínez, who recently won the Golden Foot award, in attack is expected.
Meanwhile, Carlos Augusto remains ruled out.
Napoli
Napoli's impressive nine-match unbeaten run in Serie A ended last weekend with a 3-0 home defeat to Atalanta. Antonio Conte's side struggled to respond to Ademola Lookman's brace and a late goal from Mateo Retegui.
Conte reflected on the match, stating to DAZN, "We’ve done incredibly well so far this season; we faced a team that in my view is stronger than we are right now." He emphasized the importance of learning from such encounters as part of their growth process.
Despite their five-match winning streak coming to an end, the Partenopei remain atop the table with 25 points. However, they face the risk of back-to-back defeats when they visit Inter on Sunday, a scenario they haven't experienced since December 2023.
Historically, Napoli has struggled away against Inter, securing only nine wins in 78 Serie A encounters with the hosts. Their last away victory in this fixture occurred in April 2017, thanks to José Callejón's solitary goal in a 1-0 win.
For the upcoming match, Napoli is expected to line up in a 4-3-3 formation, featuring Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Romelu Lukaku, and Matteo Politano in attack. Unfortunately, Michael Folorunsho remains sidelined.
