Opposition analysis: Napoli | OneFootball

The third matchday of the league season brings Inter’s first major fixture of the campaign: on Saturday 5 September at 18:00 CEST, the Nerazzurri will face Napoli at San Siro. It is a clash between the two teams that have shared the last four league titles between them, two apiece, and a fixture that has often produced goals and entertainment in recent years. Inter head into the game with a perfect record, thanks to victories over Monza and Cagliari, while Napoli suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Como after winning away at Genoa on the opening day. Napoli will arrive at San Siro with just one major change compared with last season, with Massimiliano Allegri appointed in the summer to lead the Azzurri following Antonio Conte’s two seasons in charge.

THE NEW ARRIVALS

Compared with the squad assembled a year ago, there have been very few changes: Napoli have kept almost the entire core of the team, parting ways with Romelu Lukaku and Juan Jesus. In defence, Benoit Badiashile has arrived from Chelsea, a player capable of adding physicality to the centre of the defence, while Costantino Favasuli, signed from Catanzaro, could feature on the right flank either as a full-back or further forward as a winger. Allegri can also count on Noa Lang and Lorenzo Lucca in attack, as well as Rafa Marin and Luca Marianucci in defence: all four players have returned from their respective loan spells at Galatasaray, Nottingham Forest, Villarreal and Torino.

FORMATION AND STYLE OF PLAY

Allegri inherited a team still built around the core of players who had been central to the successes of recent seasons, but one that was coming off a difficult campaign in terms of consistency. In the first two matches of this league season, the Tuscan coach set the team up in a 4-3-3, characterised by playing out from deep during the build-up, with Rrahmani, Rafa Marin and Lobotka the players to have the most touches of the ball, while looking to use the flanks and suddenly play vertically in the final third. Defensively, particularly in the match against Como, the two wingers dropped deeper to form a midfield line of five, helping the central midfielders shift across when opponents attempted to create numerical advantages out wide.

In the opening two rounds, Allegri selected his starting XI by relying on the established midfield trio of Lobotka, Anguissa and McTominay, with Hojlund as the attacking reference point and Politano operating wide on the right. In defence, the centre-back pairing consisted of Rrahmani and Marin due to Buongiorno’s long-term absence and Badiashile’s fitness still not being optimal. The only changes to the starting line-up between the two matches came on the left flank: Spinazzola and Alisson against Genoa, and Olivera and Lang against Como. The ability to exploit the wingers’ one-on-one qualities is certainly one of Napoli’s main weapons: against Como, it took just a few minutes to create a dangerous situation from the left, with the Lang-Olivera combination, while Hojlund, McTominay and Anguissa made runs into the box to provide attacking numbers.

Another attacking feature to emerge from the very early stages of the season has been the sudden search for verticality, catching opponents off guard after a period of horizontal ball circulation. In this regard, Kevin De Bruyne’s quality stands out. He has so far been used only as a substitute but is ready to take the place of the unavailable McTominay. On the opening matchday, the Belgian opened the scoring against Genoa by starting a vertical move from the right-centre, before completing the one-two and finishing from inside the box. Against Como, meanwhile, he produced some interesting through balls late in the game, including the opportunity for Alisson and the move that led to Lobotka’s disallowed goal. Hojlund’s goal also came from a similar move, with Rrahmani breaking through Como’s defensive lines with a through ball into the path of the Danish striker, who turned and finished from outside the box. One area in which the Azzurri have experienced some difficulties, however, is playing out from the back when opposing teams have pushed up their press. On the opening matchday, an error by Meret when playing out led to a dangerous Vitinha shot, while in the second match, Como won the ball during the passing sequence between Anguissa and Marin, allowing Douvikas to score to make it 1-2.

KEY PLAYERS

An experienced team with plenty of options at their disposal, Napoli will be without their most decisive player of the last two seasons when they travel to San Siro. With Scott McTominay unavailable, much of the Azzurri’s creativity will come from the feet and ingenuity of Kevin De Bruyne, who will operate as a central midfielder with the freedom to occupy different positions on the pitch depending on the circumstances of the match. The attack remains built around Hojlund, who provides physicality, power and runs in behind, while Politano and Alisson pose threats out wide, with Lang and Vergara ready to provide support during the match. Napoli’s tempo continues to be dictated by Stanislav Lobotka, while the defence is led by the experience of Rrahmani and captain Di Lorenzo, with Spinazzola or Olivera providing a more attacking outlet on the opposite side.

The first big match of the season will see Inter face a Napoli side still searching for their identity under Allegri, but already capable of displaying quality and different solutions in both phases of play. The Azzurri will arrive at San Siro determined to make amends for the defeat against Como and with the knowledge that they can rely on a squad rich in experience, talent and alternatives. Inter will therefore face an opponent ready to play to their strengths in a match that will represent the Nerazzurri’s first genuine high-level test of the season.