Inter face leaders Napoli in another title test

MILAN: Inter Milan’s defence of their Serie A title will be tested again on Sunday as they await league leaders Napoli hoping to close the seven-point gap between themselves and top spot.

Simone Inzaghi’s side trail both Napoli and city rivals AC Milan, both unbeaten and cheek by jowl at the summit, ater a series of big matches marked by missed chances and guting refereeing decisions. Inter drew their derby with Milan before the international break ater missing a penalty and wasting several opportunities to secure a win before a late rally from their rivals almost cost them the match.

Now they host Napoli in front of a sold out San Siro with a chance to claw back some of the ground they lost with their controversial draw with Juventus and collapse at Lazio last month.

Inter come into the clash at the San Siro with an apparent mini injury crisis coming to an end, with Edin Dzeko among those who looked to be out but who should be available for Simone Inzaghi. They will be missing starting centre-back Stefan de Vrij but Alessandro Bastoni appears to have recovered from the muscle injury which kept him out of Italy’s dismal goalless draw with Northern Ireland on Monday. Napoli meanwhile have an almost full squad available for their trip north, with Kalidou Koulibaly back following his suspension for a red card late last month.

Having Koulibaly back for such a huge match is great news for Luciano Spalleti, who returns to the San Siro for the first time since being replaced by Antonio Conte at Inter in 2019.

Waiting to pounce on either side dropping points are Milan, who travel to Florence on Saturday night to take on a Fiorentina side which have most of their backline unavailable.

Italian League fixtures (all times GMT) Saturday: Atalanta vs Spezia ( 1400), Lazio vs Juventus (1700), Fiorentina vs AC Milan (1945)

Sunday: Sassuolo vs Cagliari (1130), Bologna vs Venezia, Salernitana vs Sampdoria (both 1400), Inter Milan vs Napoli (1700), Genoa v Roma (1945) Monday: Verona vs Empoli (1730), Torino vs Udinese (1945)