Napoli vs Inter Milan
Two of the biggest Italian top-flight teams go head-to-head as Napoli host Inter Milan at the Diego Maradona Stadium on Sunday.
With at least eight more games to go, the sense of urgency is there for each and every team here in Serie A as they try to achieve their respective objectives.
For the hosts, a Champions League berth is in their sights and they are within striking distance. Napoli are placed fifth with 59 points, which is only two points adrift to fourth-seeded Atalanta.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan look to clinch the Scudetto before the other teams catch up.They have at least an 11-point lead over the rest of the competition, and grabbing three more points can help them move closer to the promise land.
Whenever these two square off, SBOTOP football fans can always expect a testy encounter and this one won’t be any different.
Talking points
Napoli fight to get into the top four
Coming off of a seventh-placed finish last term, Napoli are going to be satisfied if they’ll secure a Champions League spot by season’s end.
The Partenopei are neck-and-neck with fellow contenders AC Milan, Juventus, and Atalanta. And since they aren’t far off from each other in points, these next few matchdays leave an opening for them to take advantage.
Other than facing Inter Milan, Gennaro Gattuso will be watching closely the game between Juventus and Atalanta.
Napoli are superb over these last few weeks as prior to their defeat to Juventus recently, they were on a seven-game unbeaten run.
Since that loss to the defending champions, Napoli bounced back to grab their 19th win of the season versus Sampdoria as Victor Osimhen and Fabian Ruiz scored in either half.
After securing a clean sheet last week, the young Alex Meret will start again in goal for the Partenopei given that David Ospina is recuperating from a minor knock.
Fellow injury concern Piotr Zielinski recently trained with the team after a muscular issue, and he will replace the injured Hirving Lozano out front alongside Victor Osimhen and skipper Lorenzo Insigne.
But Napoli’s chances of winning hinges on their performance at the defencive end as Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Kostas Manolas will have their hands full in trying to slow down Inter’s frightening attack.
Inter Milan are inching closer to the summit
Inter Milan have put together an 11-game winning streak since January and they’re unstoppable right now.
Antonio Conte’s men are fresh from a 1-0 over Cagliari last week as Matteo Darmian scored off of a wonderful cross from fellow wing-back Achraf Hakimi late in the second half.
With a huge table lead, Inter Milan now require a maximum of 16 points from their eight remaining matches to secure their first Scudetto since the 2009/10 season.
Luck is on the side of the Nerazzurri since they haven’t been hit much by the injury bug all season.
Only Aleksandar Kolarov is confirmed out due to a minor muscular issue, while Arturo Vidal looks much better after undergoing meniscus surgery.
As always, Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez, and Alexis Sanchez spearhead their attack, which has generated 69 goals and numerous Serie A 2021 highlights.
History
Napoli and Inter Milan have been pretty even in their last 35 meetings.
The hosts have the slight upper hand with 14 wins, while the visitors have won 12 matches along with nine draws.
Both of these teams squared off last December where Inter Milan eked out a 1-0 victory as Romelu Lukaku scored the game-winning penalty during the 73rd minute after a costly red card for Lorenzo Insigne.
The Nerazzurri have been the better team as they’ve won three of their last five against the Partenopei. Napoli’s last victory in this matchup dates back to February 2020.
Betting Tip
Napoli vs Inter Milan | Inter Milan Asian Handicap -0.00 @ 1.71 | |
April 19, 2:45(GMT+8) |
The Serie A 2021 odds are expecting the visitors to come away with yet another win.
Inter Milan are priced at 2.26, while Napoli are at 3.05 and chances for a draw are at 3.35 in the 1×2 market.
With both sides in high-flying form and boasting some of the best players in the league, we wouldn’t be surprised if this clash can go either way.
But all season long, Inter Milan have been the best team in Serie A and they will show just that in their upcoming visit at Naples.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR () BETS ARE WORTH: | |||
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= €20 (Highly confident) | = €10 (CONFIDENT) | = €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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The post Serie A: Naples Will Witness a Battle of Two Giants appeared first on SBOTOP.