Napoli and Inter prepare to fight for top spot
Antonio Conte has no intention of holding anything back when he returns with his Serie A-leading Napoli side to San Siro to take on second-placed Inter Milan in a huge clash on Monday (AEDT).
Conte revived Inter and helped it break Juventus's nine-year stranglehold on the Scudetto, stopping its run in the 2020-2021 season to win the title for the first time since a treble-winning campaign in 2009-2010.
Napoli is looking to return to the heights of its own title triumph in 2022-2023, and Conte's side sits top of the pile with 25 points after 11 games, one point above Inter ahead of this potentially season-defining fixture.
"It's definitely nice to return to where I worked and won. Yes, two happy years," Conte said.
"It was a wonderful experience that I carry within me, like all the past ones that I lived to the fullest."
Napoli's winning run in Serie A came to a grinding halt against Atalanta last weekend when it was beaten 3-0, and it has a poor recent record against Inter, having won just one of its pasr 10 Serie A matches against the defending champion.
But Napoli is looking to avoid suffering two consecutive top-flight losses for the first time since last December, and Conte says he is in no mood to drop three points again.
"The three points is always important, it is inevitable that we face a team that today, for everything they have shown, is the strongest team," Conte added.
"We are not going to San Siro to wave the white flag before starting, but convinced to play our cards. Then we will see what happens. We are preparing in a major way, as we always do.
"It will be an important test, we will measure ourselves against the best, and it will be important to understand our progress. Do not forget that we arrive at the top of the table, and the objective is to remain at the top."
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi predicts a great match-up between the two sides, and he believes Napoli is stronger and very well-organised under Conte.
"We are facing the leaders and coach Conte has already managed to give the team an excellent organisation, which is strong and of high quality," Inzaghi said.
"We know Napoli, they are an organised team who only conceded away goals in their first game. We know their qualities, and we are preparing to have a great match.
"It's too early to talk about the table. It's the 12th game of the championship, there are so many to go. But we know that this game is important for us because it is the last one before the [international] break, and we'll try to do our best."
