Scudetto-chasing Inter Milan host potential title rivals Napoli this Wednesday in a mouthwatering midweek clash at San Siro.
Antonio Conte's side calamitously crashed out of Europe last week - while Napoli progressed in the Europa League - but now have their eyes fixed on further closing the gap to AC Milan at the top of the Serie A table following four wins on the spin.
Match preview
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Inter quickly bounced back from their Champions League exit - the third year in a row in which they have gone out of Europe's elite competition before the knockout phase - to return to winning ways at the weekend.
The Nerazzurri demonstrated great character to pull off a dramatic comeback, ultimately defeating Cagliari 3-1 - with a sweet Nicolo Barella volley against his hometown club, followed by a powerful close-range header from substitute Danilo D'Ambrosio and Romelu Lukaku's late breakaway goal sealing the deal in Sardinia.
After that three-goal haul, Inter remain top scorers in the Italian top flight - with 29 from 11 games so far - and they are now unbeaten in seven Serie A games.
Their last league defeat came on October 17 in the Milan derby and subsequent results have lifted them to second place in the standings, onto the shoulder of their groundsharing foes.
Underused and feeling unappreciated by his coach Antonio Conte, Christian Eriksen was afforded a rare start at the Sardegna Arena - though in central midfield rather than his favoured role behind the strikers and was subsequently removed from the action after enduring an hour of Conte barking at him to hold his deeper position.
It therefore appears unlikely that the Danish playmaker will earn another start with an even sterner test to come from Gennaro Gattuso's Napoli on Wednesday.
Inter won both league games against the Partenopei last season and the Neapolitan side have not found the net in their last three away games against the Nerazzurri in Serie A, so recent precedent is a cause for confidence in Conte's camp.
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Former Milan midfielder Gattuso recently named Inter as his favourites for the title, perhaps beginning mind games early ahead of this crucial confrontation at his old stomping ground, San Siro.
His second-half substitutes, Hirving Lozano - who scored one goal and made another - and Andrea Petagna were the architects of Sunday's come-from-behind win over Sampdoria.
It was a deserved victory for an utterly dominant Napoli side, which racked up 18 attempts at goal and had two-thirds of possession at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, and came just days after a home draw with Real Sociedad saw them through in Europe.
Mexican flyer Lozano registered his sixth goal of the season last time out and has now come into form after a relatively indifferent start to the campaign. The former PSV forward, also known as 'Chucky', has menaced defences at home and abroad in recent weeks and is one of several goal threats set to keep Inter's improving back line on its toes.
In Serie A, Napoli are the team with the most different scorers so far, with 10 separate contributors to their impressive 26-goal total.
All of which bodes well for an outfit intent on mounting a sustained title challenge in the spring, as after this testing fixture against the Nerazzurri, a trip to Lazio is still to be faced before the winter break. Then, with Europa League commitments on the back burner in January, a series of games against the league's lesser lights are in store.
Now though - following three successive Serie A wins to Inter's four - something must give when two serious Scudetto contenders go head-to-head at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Inter Milan Serie A form: DDWWWW
Inter Milan form (all competitions): LWWWDW
Napoli Serie A form: LWLWWW
Napoli form (all competitions): WWDWDW
Team News
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Inter's Achraf Hakimi will be assessed before kickoff due to an ankle injury which forced the former Real Madrid man off against Cagliari, so Matteo Darmian stands ready to deputise at wing-back. Meanwhile, Lautaro Martinez should start ahead of Alexis Sanchez, who has a minor injury.
As Arturo Vidal's participation is also in doubt and Christian Eriksen only earned the reproach of Antonio Conte for his weekend performance, it is likely that Roberto Gagliardini will start in the three-man engine room. Fellow midfielders Matias Vecino and Radja Nainggolan are both still out.
Napoli have confirmed that Victor Osimhen is still training separately from the Napoli squad and is set to miss out in Milan. The Nigeria forward has been out of action since dislocating his shoulder on international duty last month, so Dries Mertens will start ahead of consistently effective substitute striker Andrea Petagna up front.
Gennaro Gattuso has an otherwise fully fit squad available for the trip North, so must decide whether to recall Tiemoue Bakayoko to midfield and choose between rotating goalkeepers David Ospina and Alex Meret.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Gagliardini, Brozovic, Barella, Young; Lukaku, Martinez
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Ospina; Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly, Rui; Bakayoko, Ruiz; Lozano, Zielinski, Insigne; Mertens
We say: Inter Milan 2-1 Napoli
Inter's irrepressible attack just cannot be repelled - unless you happen to be Shakhtar Donetsk - while high-flying Napoli have also scored for fun this season.
Goals seem to be guaranteed then, but Inter's marginally greater big-game nous can help them claim a valuable three point haul against one of their direct rivals for Serie A supremacy.
Top betting tip
Jonathan O'Shea
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Inter Milan win with a probability of 44.81%. A win for Napoli had a probability of 30.45% and a draw had a probability of 24.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Inter Milan win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.27%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.19%) and 2-0 (7.31%). The likeliest Napoli win was 0-1 (7.39%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.65%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Inter Milan in this match.
