Inter Milan Vs Napoli: Duel Two Teams Injured After Failing In European Competition

Federico Dimarco will redeem for Inter Milan's failure in the Champions League. (photo: x @Inter)

JAKARTA - After the two were hit by disappointment by being eliminated from European competitions in the middle of the week, Inter Milan and Napoli will meet at the San Siro Stadium in the Serie A top match on Sunday, March 17 or Monday morning WIB.

As the defending champion last season, Inter Milan is ready to continue the trend as the leader of the standings who is far ahead of their competitors. Inter, already 16 points ahead of closest competitor AC Milan, at the top of the standings after winning 10 consecutive league wins.

Inter Milan felt their perfect record for 2024 was halted suddenly, after being knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday, following a 1-2 loss to Atletico Madrid which was followed by a failure in a tense penalty shootout.

Although Federico Dimarco's opener had put the Nerazzurri two on aggregate, but after a two-goal conceded, last season's finalists were unable to give a response during extra time in the Spanish capital, before Lautaro Martinez missed his key penalty shot over the crossbar.

Also eliminated from the Coppa Italia, the only remaining remains for Simone Inzaghi's troops is to seal the Italian title in the next few weeks: Inter are in a position that is certainly not overtaken in front of their old rivals, AC Milan and Juventus.

They are now returning to domestic duties in search of successive 11th league wins for the third time in their long history, having recorded 17 wins in the 2005-06 season and then 11 times below Antonio Conte three years ago.

While they will not be crowned king of the continent, Inter have scored 70 goals in the league and conceded only 13 goals, which is not only the best goal difference between Europe's top five leagues but also the best for the Serie A team this season since the 1950s.

After winning seven of their last 11 league games against Napoli, including a 3-0 win at the Maradona Stadium last December, the Milan giants will hope to return to winning ways this weekend.

Meanwhile, Napoli fell to Barcelona in Montjuic, losing 3-1 that night and 4-2 on aggregate.

After last season's quarter-final debut, Napoli were knocked out in the last 16 for the fourth time in five attempts - but their hopes are relatively low, given how this season has taken place.

Even so, Napoli are now visiting the San Siro, where they have lost their last five league meetings against Inter with an 8-2 score aggregate.

After 120 minutes of intense action in Madrid, Simone Inzaghi will definitely make changes on Sunday night, where Davide Frattesi and Yann Bisseck could be promoted into Inter's core line-up.

While Marko Arnautovic, Juan Cuadrado, and Stefano Sensi are still absent, Brazil's full-back Carlos Augusto is supposed to return from a muscle injury after being absent on a midweek trip to Spain.

If he can recover from the penalty disappointment, captain Lautaro Martinez will try to score a goal that will see him score 10 goals at home in each season of the last four seasons, a feat that Erling Haaland has achieved only among Europe's top five leagues during that period.

Meanwhile, centre-man Hakan Calhanoglu - who scored in Napoli this season - will hit double-digit for the second time in his career, having previously scored 11 goals for Hamburg a decade ago.

Meanwhile, Napoli's main striker, Victor Osimhen, is doubtful of appearing due to injury, so Giovanni Simeone will be ready to start the match against his ex-father's club.

This match will be exciting because both teams will try to bounce back after their disappointment in Europe and win at the San Siro on Sunday night.

Estimated Lineup Of Players

Inter Milan: Sommer; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Frattesi, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez

Napoli: Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Jesus, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka, Traore; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia