Inter’s lead up for grabs as Napoli lie in wait

Inter Milan’s Italian head coach Simone Inzaghi reacts during the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and AC Milan at the Giuseppe-Meazza (San Siro) stadium in Milan on February 5, 2022. (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP)

Inter Milan’s Serie A lead will be on the line on Saturday when the champions travel to Napoli for another huge clash with a title rival.

Defeat in last weekend’s Milan derby pulled Simone Inzaghi’s Inter back to their pursuers, the gap between them and both second-placed Napoli and neighbours AC Milan cut to just a point before the big trip south.

With Milan, hosting Sampdoria on Sunday, in fine form after thumping Lazio 4-0 in the Italian Cup on Wednesday, Inter face the serious prospect of being dumped down to third should they lose at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Inter did bounce back on Tuesday by beating Roma to set up another pair of Milan derbies in the two-leg semi-finals of the Italian Cup, but Inzaghi is in no doubt of the danger Napoli present to their title defence.

“We know that they’re a good team who kept hold of all their best players (in January). They’re a contender for the title,” said Inzaghi, who is suspended after ranting at referee Marco Guida in the stormy aftermath of the Milan derby.

Boosting Napoli’s chances of claiming top spot is the potential return of their African spine, with defensive lynchpin Kalidou Koulibaly and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa back in Italy from the Africa Cup of Nations. Star striker Victor Osimhen came back early and has found scoring form.

It was Osimhen’s strike, his first for the club since mid-October, last weekend at Venezia which set Napoli up for a bumper fixture with Inter.

Osimhen has to wear a special mask to play after smashing