Inter Milan and Napoli go head-to-head at a sold-out San Siro this evening with first place in Serie A firmly at stake and Marcus Thuram returns to Cristian Chivu’s starting XI.
Kick-off is scheduled for 20:45 CET, with both sides knowing the result could significantly shape the Scudetto race.
After the measured rotation in Parma midweek, Cristian Chivu has reverted to Inter’s most reliable and in-form XI for the visit of Antonio Conte’s Napoli.
The Nerazzurri coach has opted for continuity, experience and balance in a fixture loaded with tension following the controversies of the reverse meeting.
Inter vs Napoli – Chivu Restores Thuram & Zielinski After Parma Rotation
As expected, several key figures return to the starting lineup.
Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolò Barella, Piotr Zielinski and Marcus Thuram are all back from the first minute, underlining the importance of the occasion.
In defence, Manuel Akanji is once again trusted as the central pillar of the back three, flanked by Yann Bisseck on the right and Bastoni on the left.
Our 1️⃣1️⃣⚫🔵 for #InterNapoli ⚔️
Forza Inter 💪@play_eFootball pic.twitter.com/4byPMGFSfU— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter_en) January 11, 2026
Francesco Acerbi starts on the bench despite being available, while Matteo Darmian is not included in the squad.
On the right flank, Luis Henrique continues as the emergency solution in the absence of Denzel Dumfries, with Federico Dimarco confirmed on the left.
Zielinski is preferred to Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Sucic in midfield alongside Barella, while Hakan Calhanoglu anchors play in the regista role.
Up front, Chivu puts his faith in the established Thu-La partnership of Thuram and Lautaro Martinez.
Indeed, with both Ange-Yoan Bonny and Francesco Pio Esposito available to change the game from the bench.
Josep Martinez misses out with an ankle sprain.
Napoli Forced Into Changes As Conte Loses Neres
Napoli arrive in Milan significantly depleted.
David Neres has failed to recover from his ankle problem, forcing Conte into a reshuffle.
Leonardo Spinazzola is pushed higher up the pitch, with Eljif Elmas operating between the lines.
Several key absences remain, including Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, leaving Napoli short on experience and physical presence.
Inter vs Napoli – Official Starting Lineups
INTER (3-5-2): Sommer; Bisseck, Akanji, Bastoni; Luis Henrique, Barella, Calhanoglu, Zielinski, Dimarco; Thuram, Lautaro.
Bench: Calligaris, Taho, De Vrij, Acerbi, Carlos Augusto, Cinquegrano, Cocchi, Mkhitaryan, Sucic, Frattesi, Diouf, Bonny, Esposito.
Coach: Cristian Chivu
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Di Gennaro, Palacios, Dumfries, Darmian, Josep Martinez
NAPOLI (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Beukema, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus; Spinazzola, Lobotka, McTominay, Di Lorenzo; Elmas, Politano; Hojlund.
Bench: Meret, Contini, Buongiorno, Marianucci, Gutierrez, Mazzocchi, Vergara, Lang, Lucca.
Coach: Antonio Conte
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Lukaku, De Bruyne, Anguissa, Neres, Ambrosino, Gilmour
Referee: Doveri
Assistants: Alassio, Colarossi
Fourth official: Colombo
VAR: Di Bello
AVAR: Di Paolo
If bonny was subbed earlier we couldve won tbh
I mean it is like back to Inzaghi later time again, once we score to lead, we will have 10 men in front our box then depending on the defense to hold the result. However, we dont have that high level of defense anymore, so draw is kind of expected. But overall, I still think it is not a bad result, good enough to hold the gap. Chivu may need more time to have his own squad then build up on that.
The only positive thing from tonight is that we didn’t lose once more against direct contenders for title. Ref was abysmal as usual, but we allowed 2 goals once more out of nothing, low concentration period and not guarding properly AGAIN vs McTominay. Midfielders, Dima and Basto had solid games, the rest have underperformed. Captain was helping again in defense and midfield, but not that present in attack. Luis invisible as always, gotta stop hoping that he’ll ever play good for us. Sommer isn’t even 10% of his former self, better to bring kid from U23 team instead of him. Thuram except that assist for Dima and that ripped shirt not present in the game as usual.
Hoping for a couple of wins vs direct rivals, even draws are good for us, cause we don’t spill that many points vs smaller teams.
Well the first draw of the season. Milan are falling apart under pressure and Napoli are hanging on and knew a loss would’ve been devastating while for Inter the first priority was to win but not losing means they are still ahead with a couple of points and they just need to continue the same things and win against the small sides.
On paper a draw to Napoli is not bad but our head to
Head is not good and once again we can’t beat a top team it’s been 6 months now smh also Napoli was
Missing 4 starters: Neres, Lukaku, De Bruyne and Anguissa yet we could not beat them so I’m not happy.
The sad this is the management is refusing to reinforce us an we could again throw away another
League title this summer
Daniela and di bello…otherwise..intrr player great..dont blame my team…the refs were like daniele…bishes..but we’ll celebrate 21 in may..so fok u haters…FORZA INTER