Inter Milan vs Napoli
Boxing Day in Milan…what could be better? The fashion capital of Europe will be buzzing with festive activity, lunching and shopping.
And, of course, there’s the matter of a huge Serie A game at the Giuseppe Meazza, where Carlo Ancelotti brings his Napoli side to take on Inter. It’s the big match of the day and bound to head up the last Serie A 2018 news, before we welcome in the New Year.
Napoli comes into the game in better form and still determined to stay in the title race. Sitting is second they trail Juventus by eight points and Serie A 2018 odds point to a record eighth Scudetto in a row for the Old Lady; so that all makes this game even bigger for Ancelotti’s men. Win and they could possibly close the gap to five points, lose and the Bianconeri could well be out of sight.
For Inter this is a big test and one they need to pass. While they sit in third place, city rivals Milan are six points behind in fifth place, and the Nerazzurri is not in the best shape.
Talking Points
Bad boy Radja is out for Inter
The last thing Luciano Spalletti needs before this big clash is to lose one of his biggest stars, but the club has had to take matters into its own hands with the banning of combative midfielder Radja Nainggolan.
The £24m summer signing from Roma has courted controversy throughout his career with his love of wild parties, but there is some confusion over the cause of this latest disciplinary ban. Nainggolan has been mixing with a dubious company and was reportedly ripped off to the tune of 150,000 Euros by a gang falsifying cheques. Further investigations found that the midfield star had made big losses in a casino.
Either way, Radja will not be playing against Napoli and that will heap more pressure on Inter’s other senior players. The Nerazzurri is once again relying on the goals of Mauro Icardi and he has nine already, while Ivan Perisic has been a provider as well as weighing in with the odd crucial goal, three so far.
Perisic scored the opener against Chievo last week but Inter contrived to draw the game when Sergio Pellissier grabbed an injury-time equaliser to give the bottom side their fifth point of the season. Spalletti’s last defeat in Serie A came in the 1-0 defeat to Juventus but a single point against one of the weakest teams in Europe’s top flights is more worrying.
Napoli has a clear run at the league
Defeat to Liverpool in the Champions league has dumped Carlo Ancelotti’s team out of Europe’s Premier competition and so they can now focus their attention on Serie A. Okay the Europa League might be another diversion, but with Champions League football relatively certain for next season, Ancelotti’s side can still aim to stay with Juventus in the race for the Scudetto.
A record of 13 wins two draws and two defeats have given Napoli 41 points from 17 games, a return which would sit you at the top of most leagues. But the Bianconeri has dropped just two points so far, a solitary draw among 16 wins. But Napoli can only influence their own games and Ancelotti has three forward players bang in form.
Leading scorer Arek Milik has eight goals while Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens have seven each and the latter two, in particular, will be ready to give Inter’s back line the runaround.
History
These are two aristocrats of the Italian game who have enjoyed many a tussle over the years. There’s little to choose between them as the head-to-head results have Inter Milan just one game ahead in all matches since 1993. The Nerazzurri has 15 wins to Napoli’s 14 and there have been nine draws.
Both games were goalless draws last season and none of the last six clashes between Inter and Napoli has seen both sides score.
Ancelotti’s side hasn’t drawn away from home this season, winning six and losing two, while Inter is unbeaten in nine home matches.
Betting Tip
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Inter Milan vs Napoli | Under 2.50 @1.89 |
| December 27, 03:30 (GMT+8) |
This game is very tight to call with the odds at Sbobet barely able to split the two sides. Napoli is marginally the favourite at 2.67 with Inter at 2.77 and the draw available at 2.98.
Napoli has the edge in form but home advantage could cancel that out. If you think we might see a repeat of the last two meetings then 0-0 is available at 10.50, though 1-1 is the much more likely score-line at odds of 5.60.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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