Inter Milan vs Napoli: Allegri Faces Champions Without McTominay in Serie A's First Title Test

The First Big One of the Season

Inter and Napoli have met 160 times in Serie A. The champions have won 70, Napoli 48, with 42 draws. But the recent history at the San Siro tells a different story.

Both sides have Champions League fixtures next week, making this the final domestic test before European competition begins. The result here will set the tone for both campaigns.

Inter Milan vs Napoli prediction

Inter: Perfect Start, Clinical Finish Still Missing

Cristian Chivu's side have six points from six after a 4-1 win over Monza on the opening weekend and a 1-0 victory at Cagliari in Matchday 2. And the Monza result was just as commanding as it looks on paper:

• Hakan Calhanoglu opened the scoring,
• Before Inter took complete control after the break through Piotr Zielinski, Francesco Pio Esposito and Yann Bisseck.

But the Cagliari match told a different story. Calhanoglu scored in the ninth minute, but Inter generated 3.67 expected goals from the rest of the match and failed to convert any of them.

Lautaro Martinez and Federico Dimarco both wasted clear chances. The victory maintained the perfect record, but the finishing will need to improve against a Napoli side that kept clean sheets in their last three away matches.

See also: Juventus vs Milan prediction

New English Arrivals Settling In

Inter signed John Stones from Manchester City, Curtis Jones and Djed Spence during the summer. Stones and Jones did come off the bench at Cagliari and are expected to start on the bench again, while Spence remains doubtful with a lingerie fitness issue.

Marcus Thuram is not fully fit either, meaning Pio Esposito is likely to partner Martinez up front for the second match running.

Napoli: Allegri Back in Milan, Without His Midfield Engine

Allegri beat Inter in both league meetings last season while managing AC Milan. The San Siro, the atmosphere, Chivu's system, Massimiliano has seen all of it from the other dugout and won both times.

But this is a very different squad to the one he had at Milan, and it arrives in worse shape than he would like.

The opening-day 2-0 win at Genoa was encouraging. Kevin De Bruyne scored on opening day, and Rasmus Hojlund showed the kind of movement that suggests he can fill the gap left by Romelu Lukaku's departure to Fenerbahce.

McTominay has been ruled out after being diagnosed with a heart condition that requires a minor procedure. He is unavailable for this match and there is no confirmed return date. De Bruyne is expected to take a more central role in his absence, with Zambo Anguissa and Stanislav Lobotka alongside him.

What's more, Alessandro Buongiorno, Luca Marianucci and Pasquale Mazzocchi are also injured, leaving Amir Rrahmani and Rafa Marin as the likely centre-back pairing.

Our experts accounted for all these factors in the Inter Milan vs Napoli prediction .

Inter Milan vs Napoli: Match Details

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