Serie A: Napoli Gunning for Top Spot

Napoli vs Inter Milan

The top two in the Serie A meet in Naples on Saturday when Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli entertain Inter Milan in the match of the weekend across Europe’s big four leagues.

A home win would take Napoli two points clear of Simone Inzaghi’s Inter and with AC Milan also in the picture at home to Sampdoria, it promises to be a compelling weekend of Italian football.

The Azzurri and Rossoneri made an electric start to the campaign, but 2021 Scudetto winners Inter then took control but there are plenty of twists and turns to come.

Napoli won 2-0 away to Venezia last week while Inter come into the game on the back of a 2-0 Coppa Italia victory over Roma, but their last league outing resulted in a damaging loss in the Milan derby.  

Talking Points

Momentum the key for Napoli

Four league wins on the bounce have re-ignited Napoli’s Scudetto campaign and having won 11 of the first 12, Spalletti knows his team is very capable of going on a long run.

And they are not over reliant on any one player as recent results have proved. Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen and Andrea Petagna were on target in Napoli’s win over Venezia, while top scorer Dries Mertens scored his seventh of the season in a 4-1 win over Salernitana while skipper Lorenzo Insigne bagged his fifth.      

Add in to the mix midfield duo Piotr Zielinski and Fabian Ruiz with five goals each along with five assists for both Zielinski and Insigne, then you can see why opposition defences have their heads spinning.

At the back, centre-half Kalidou Koulibaly has returned from the African Cup of Nations where he captained Senegal to their first triumph as African champions, and he’s in contention for a start which would be good news for Napoli fans.

Inter facing another big test

Inter’s defeat in the Milan Derby was big Serie A 2022 newsand it blew the title race wide open.

The Serie A 2022 betting oddshave squeezed in a little and Inzaghi’s team is now at odds of 1.30 to retain the Scudetto, while the early season pace setters are sneaking back into the picture. Napoli are priced at 7.10 with Milan at 7.20 and even the Old Lady of Juventus has suddenly awoken and drifted in to 15.00.

It’s still a long shot but suddenly the natives in Turin are interested again, and I Bianconeri is also involved in a blockbuster clash away to Atalanta for fifth versus fourth.   

So is this another huge test for I Nerazzurri so how can they hold back the wave?

Well, the continued form of strike pairing Lautaro Martinez with 11 goals and Edin Dzeko with nine are key to the champions’ success, and Dzeko scored the opener in Inter’s 2-0 Coppa Italia victory over Roma in midweek.

Wide-man Hakan Calhanoglu is a dangerous customer, making eight assists and scoring six goals so far in this campaign. And Inter’s strikers are never short of quality supply with the experienced Ivan Perisic and Azzurri star Nicola Barella both capable of turning a game.

History

Inter have won three of the last six meetings with Napoli – all at the San Siro Stadium while losing one on home turf. But the last two games at the Diego Maradona Stadium in Naples have each resulted in a 1-1 draw.

Inzaghi’s men came out on the right side of a five-goal thriller when the two teams last met in November. Zielinski gave Napoli a lead but Inter roared back and Martinez made it 3-1 before Mertens scored a late goal to half the deficit. It was a big result which pulled Inter up to within four points of the early leaders.   

There’s nothing to choose between the two teams on current form with both of them recording four wins, a draw, and a defeat across the last six games. 

Betting Tip

	Napoli vs Inter Milan	Napoli Asian Handicap 0.00 @ 2.03
	February 13, 01:00 (GMT+8)

There’s not much to choose between them in odds either with Inter slight favourites at a price of 2.45, while Napoli are available here at SBOTOP at 2.66 and the draw is 3.20.  

Inter Milan are priced at 1.86 Draw no Bet and Inzaghi will set his team up to be solid at the back and prepared to strike when the opportunity presents itself.

Napoli will see this as a big opportunity to stake their case for the Scudetto and a passionate crowd will give them an edge.

It’s going to be a tight game. But with so many creative and attacking players on the pitch, we should see plenty of goalmouth action. 

 

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