Napoli look to get title defence back on track against leaders Inter

Serie A champions Napoli host league leaders Inter Milan on Sunday, with the title defenders looking to show the title pretenders that they are not out of the Scudetto race just yet.

After an inconsistent start to the season cost Rudi Garcia his job as Napoli coach, his replacement Walter Mazzarri made a winning start on his return to the club with a 2-1 victory at Atalanta last weekend.

Napoli are still fourth in the table, but Inter's draw at Juventus on Sunday saw Mazzarri's side gain two points on the top two and though there is still an eight point gap to Inter, a win against the leaders would put them right back in contention.

Simone Inzaghi's Inter have already proven their title credentials this season. They have the best defence and attack in the league, have lost just once, and since that defeat by Sassuolo have gone seven games unbeaten.

Mazzarri knows what it's like to battle for the league title at both clubs. He previously spent four seasons at Napoli, taking them to a runners-up spot in 2013, before he joined Inter but was sacked early in his second season at the club.

His only trophy win came at Napoli, lifting the Coppa Italia in 2012, and for the 62-year-old, winning a Scudetto would be the crowning glory to a career which has seen him manage in Serie A since 2004 without the ultimate success.

Napoli's triumph last season has been captured in a film by their president Aurelio De Laurentiis, and Mazzarri feels like a part of that Scudetto win is thanks to his work at the club.

"The other day the president came to the dressing room, he showed me a clip that will come out and I got chills, the same feeling I had with the Coppa Italia on my way back from the final in Rome," Mazzarri said recently.

"When I left we