After two home games without a win, Napoli will be looking to snap out of that streak when they face a rejuvenated Inter at San Paolo on Friday. Last season Inter won two of their three games against Napoli, at home in the league and also the Italian Cup match, which was played in Naples. However, Inter have not managed to win any of their last ten league matches at the San Paolo stadium, with Napoli victorious on four of the last five occasions.
Napoli have always been strong at home, but that doesn't seem to be the case this season. They have won four of their seven home matches so far, lost one, and also drew the last two in a row. They have dropped to seventh place in the Serie A table and if things don't turn around soon, then we might see the end of Maurizio Sarri's reign as head coach. Napoli were held to a 1-1 home draw by Sassuolo last time out and a few days before that they produced a 0-0 Champions League draw against Dynamo Kiev in front of their own fans. Arkadiusz Milik is still out injured, but there are no other fitness concerns for the home side.
After the sacking of head coach Franck De Boer, Inter seem to have found some motivation and determination under new boss Stefano Pioli. His reign started with a good 2-2 draw in the derby against AC Milan, and then last week Inter beat Fiorentina 4-2 at home. It's true that between those two games they lost 3-2 against Hapoel Beer Sheva, a result which sealed their elimination from the Europa League, but that match was affected by the sending off of goalkeeper Samir Handanovic. Davide Santon and Gary Medel are out injured, but Rodrigo Palacio might recover before the game.
Probable line-ups:
Napoli: Reina - Hysaj, Koulibaly, Albiol, Ghoulam - Allan, Diawara, Hamsik - Callejon, Gabbiadini, Insigne
Inter: Handanovic - D'Ambrosio, Miranda, Ranocchia, Ansaldi - Kondogbia, Brozovic - Candreva, Banega, Perisic - Icardi
My prediction: 1-1 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Napoli win - 1.85
Draw - 3.75
Inter win - 4.20
Your feedback
Please enter your comment.
Your comment is added.
