All eyes on Osimhen and Lautaro Martinez as Napoli host Inter
Super Eagles and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is expected to make his first start in almost two months when Napoli host Inter on Sunday, but Alessandro Bastoni is still not ready.
It kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday at 19.45 GMT.
With both teams involved in the Champions League midweek, coaches Walter Mazzarri and Simone Inzaghi have opted against giving press conferences .
The good news for Napoli is the return of Osimhen from the starting XI for the first time since sustaining a thigh injury on international duty for Nigeria on October 13.
He was able to make substitute appearances against Atalanta and Real Madrid, but this will be the first start for Napoli since October 8.
Piotr Zielinski was left with stud marks in his thigh after a high Antonio Rudiger tackle for Real Madrid midweek, but is expected to start with pain-killers.
Jesper Lindstrom, Alessandro Zanoli, Mario Rui and Mathias Olivera remain injured, so Natan could move to the left-back role, with Leo Ostigard stepping in for central defence.
Inter are still missing Bastoni, as the central defender was not training fully with the squad today either and is therefore not even making the trip, along with Benjamin Pavard.
Denzel Dumfries, Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were among those rested for the Champions League draw with Benfica.
Inter Milan will be looking to reclaim their spot at the top of the Serie A table.
Although Napoli might have made real history last season as they claimed their first S
erie A crown since 1990, their Scudetto defence is not going according to plan this season. The current campaign has not been a complete disaster. But they have already lost three times this season after 13 games, just one fewer than suffered in the entirety of 2023/24.
As a result, they find themselves in fourth place in the table, eight points adrift of second-placed Inter Milan. They earned a crucial win in Bergamo in Walter Mazzarri’s first game in charge of his second stint at the club, as Eljif Elmas scored late off the bench to seal a 2-1 victory.
Inter, meanwhile, come into Sunday’s match unbeaten in their last seven league assignments (W5 D2). In fact, the Nerazzurri have lost just once in Serie A so far this season, bouncing back in resounding fashion since seeing their perfect start ended by Sassuolo in round six.
The visitors’ comeback draws against Juventus and Benfica have certainly proven their mettle. But the former, in particular, now means that three points are an absolute must this Sunday. Inter’s two-point lead over Bianconeri has disappeared after Juve beat Monza 2-1 on Friday night. So, anything less than a win means Inter would find themselves playing catch up in second spot despite a marauding start to the season.
