The 24th matchday in the Italian Serie A will take place this weekend. Here, for example, the top match Napoli vs. Inter Milan is on the agenda on Saturday at 18:00. Thus, the second-placed team will receive the leader at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with the southern Italians and the Nerazzurri having taken 52 and 53 points respectively. Daniele Doveri is the referee for this encounter.
Moreover, for both title contenders, it is a general rehearsal for European Cup appearances next week. And Napoli will face Barcelona away in the Europa League on Thursday. Luciano Spalletti’s team is unbeaten in five league games. For Napoli, the year began with a 1-1 draw at Juventus. Thereafter, the team from the city at the feet of Mount Vesuvius won, albeit against teams from the second half of the table, four matches in a row. Most recently, they managed a 4-1 home win against last-placed regional rivals Salernitana and a 2-0 at third-bottom Venezia on 6 February.
For the visitors, the Napoli vs. Inter Milan match comes ahead of the first leg of their round of sixteen Champions League tie against Liverpool on Wednesday. Moreover, it represents the third competitive match in a week, as Simone Inzaghi’s side celebrated a 2-0 home win over seventh-placed AS Roma in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday. This saw Inter Milan immediately return to winning ways after a 1-2 away defeat to third-placed AC Milan. Moreover, it was their eighth win in ten competitive matches.
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What speaks for Napoli?
- Won all of their last four league games
- Unlike their opponents, they did not play in the Coppa Italia this week and could therefore focus on this match
- Did not concede a goal in three of its last four league appearances so far
- Home advantage
What speaks for Inter Milan?
- Won eight of their last ten competitive matches so far
- No player took part in the Africa Cup and two ones of their rivals returned from Cameroon this week
- In their last home game against Salernitana, their opponents didn’t play to nil for the sixth time in nine league appearances.
Our betting tip:
- Bet: Both teams score goals – Yes
- Bookmaker: 1xBet
- Odds: 1.70
Expert analysis Napoli
For Napoli, last year ended with a disappointing December, with the southern Italians taking only four points from five matches. That made a 1-1 draw in the classic at fourth-placed Juventus on 6 January all the more important. Even if they failed to win at their arch-rivals, Luciano Spalletti’s team gained self-confidence.
From then on, in the championship, everything went like clockwork for the team from the city at the feet of Vesuvius. After all, albeit against teams from the second half of the table, they managed to win four games in a row. The only setback came in the Coppa Italia, with Napoli losing 2-5 to eighth-placed Fiorentina after extra time in mid-January.
Immediately before and after that, Napoli beat at home fifth-placed Sampdoria (1-0) and at 13th-placed Bologna (2-0). The second-placed side then followed that up with a 4-1 home win over last-placed regional rivals Salernitana. This was the third time in five competitive games played by Spalletti’s side that goals were scored by both teams. In addition, the team from the city at the feet of Vesuvius conceded a goal for the sixth time in nine league appearances.
This was followed by a 2-0 at third-bottom Venezia on 6 February. Napoli took the lead in the 59th minute thanks to a goal from Victor Osimhen. It was the first goal since mid-October for the Nigerian attacker, who was out of action between late November and early January with a fractured cheekbone. Andrea Petagna then scored the second goal in the tenth (!) minute of injury time.
On the same day, centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly triumphed with Senegal at the Africa Cup. Now he returned to the club, along with Cameroonian defensive midfielder André Zambo Anguissa. However, it is not certain whether they will be available to Spalletti for the top match Napoli vs. Inter Milan. Furthermore, three players – attacking players Hirving Lozano as well as Adam Ounas and central defender Axel Tuanzebe – will definitely be absent.
Expert analysis Inter Milan
Unlike their opponents in the Napoli vs. Inter Milan clash, the visitors qualified for the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. There, they celebrated a 2-0 home victory against seventh-placed AS Roma on Tuesday. The win saw Simone Inzaghi’s side immediately return to winning ways after a 1-2 away defeat to third-placed AC Milan on Saturday.
On top of that, their city rivals, who took the same number of points as the southern Italians, came back from a 0-1 interval deficit. And Olivier Giroud turned the match around with goals in the 75th and 78th minutes. Thus, for the third time in four league appearances of the leaders, goals came from both teams. The only exception, a 0-0 draw at fifth-placed Atalanta, fell between two 2-1 home victories. On that occasion, sixth-placed Lazio Roma and, on 22 January, Venezia lost.
After winning in the cup against AS Roma, their eighth victory in ten competitive matches, Inter Milan are facing their second title duel in a week. However, a win in the city at the feet of Vesuvius would be important also for the first leg of the Champions League last sixteen against Liverpool. More specifically, the Nerazzurri will compete against the Reds on Wednesday.
Unlike the home side in the Napoli vs. Inter Milan match, the leaders do not have an Africa Cup participant under contract. Inzaghi, however, will be without four players. One of them, centre-back Alessandro Bastoni, is both suspended and injured. The latter also applies to left midfielder Robin Gosens and strikers Joaquin Correa as well as Felipe Caicedo.
Head-to-head comparison Napoli – Inter Milan
The first Napoli vs. Inter Milan clash in Serie A 2021/2022 took place on 21 November. The Nerazzurri celebrated a 3-2 home victory. Moreover, both teams scored in the last clash at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (1-1).
Our betting tip and the best odds
In the Napoli vs. Inter Milan match, two teams on a par will meet. Therefore, we would under no circumstances place three-way bets and instead opt for those on the event of both teams scoring goals.
The home side most recently won 2-0 in Venice, but in their latest home game against last-placed Salernitana (4-1) Napoli conceded a goal for the sixth time in nine league matches. Furthermore, in three of Inter Milan’s last four league appearances so far, both teams netted.
Napoli vs. Inter Milan – betting tip: Both teams score goals – Yes, odds 1.70 at bookmaker 1xBet
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