The 16th day of Serie A ends with the most awaited match: Inter hosts the very fast Napoli who are looking for yet another victory after the stop imposed by the World Cup. The two teams, fifth and first in the standings, are separated by 11 points in the standings, therefore a defeat for Inter would mean virtual exclusion from the Scudetto race. Napoli, on the other hand, by not losing today, would take an important step in the roadmap leading to the title. Inzaghi embraced again Lautaro Martinez after the victory in Qatar, but Toro has few leg workouts and starts from the bench, with the heavy pair Dzeko-Lukaku forward. Still absent after the new injury Brozovic in midfield, right-wing run-off between Dumfries and Darmian won by the Italian. Spalletti recovered during the break Kvaratskeliasoon with Politano to trigger Osimhenbehind comes Rrahmani who overtook Juan Jesus for a place alongside Kim. Meret, struggling with the flu, grits his teeth and starts from 1′
Debut also in the stands: from tonight the beating heart of the Nerazzurri fans will be united under a single banner unlike what has been done so far due to the fragmented constellation of fans. From today it will be read “Curva Nord Milano 1969”.
STATISTICS
Napoli have lost 68 of their 152 Serie A matches against Inter (46W, 38D), only against Juventus (70) have they suffered more defeats in the competition. Against, Inter is the team that has beaten Napoli several times at home in Serie A (W50, D17, L9), thanks to 143 goals scored, another record in home games against the Neapolitans in the top division.
Both times the Naples won the Scudetto (1986-87 and 1989-90) has lost the first game after the Christmas break.
For Mkhitaryan it will be the 100th match in Serie A: so far he has participated in 50 goals, with 28 goals and 22 assists. The former Politano will instead play the 100th Serie A match with the Napoli shirt.
In their last 24 league games, Inter have never drawn, recording 18 wins and six defeats; Napoli, Lautaro Martinez’s third favorite victim in Italy, have won all of their last 11 Serie A matches.
It is only the second time that Inter have fielded 5 Italians in the starting 11 in this championship – the other in the 2-1 victory at the Mapei Stadium against Sassuolo in October.
