Simone Inzaghi believes ‘courage and motivation will make the difference’ for Inter against Napoli, as the time has come to finally beat one of the other big clubs.
It kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 GMT at San Siro.
After their 1-1 draw with Milan, the Nerazzurri face another of the joint Serie A leaders.
“It’ll be a very important game for our position in the table, just as it was against Milan. Courage and motivation can make the difference,” said Inzaghi in his press conference.
“We have done well in Serie A and the Champions League. We’re only two points off our position at this stage last season, but it’s also true that Milan and Napoli are having the kind of start we hadn’t seen in Serie A for 40 years.”
Inter have not beaten any of the sides that finished in the top seven last term and Inzaghi confirmed Andrea Ranocchia will start tomorrow.
“We deserved more against Atalanta, Juventus and Milan, only getting three draws, so we need to do more from tomorrow in the head-to-head clashes. The time has come to win these games.
“Sometimes incidents can be decisive, like a penalty that is missed or not awarded, but I am proud of these lads. We can all do better, we knew it would be a transitional season after the changes over the summer, but we are competitive in every tournament.”
Stefan de Vrij and Alexis Sanchez picked up injuries on international duty, while Edin Dzeko, Alessandro Bastoni and Lautaro Martinez are also carrying knocks.
With Lautaro Martinez’s penalty parried by Ciprian Tatarusanu, will Inter change their hierarchy in case of a spot-kick?
“He scored a very important penalty against Sassuolo, while we also have Hakan Calhanoglu and Ivan Perisic. We’re prepared for any eventuality.
“I’ve been a striker, I know there are difficult moments when the ball doesn’t want to go in. Martinez is 100 per cent in the project, he only has to worry if he doesn’t get scoring opportunities. He’ll get back to scoring, just as he always has done.
“Napoli are a very strong squad who kept hold of their most talented players, such as Fabian Ruiz and Kalidou Koulibaly. They are doing well under Luciano Spalletti, but I thought they were impressive with Gennaro Gattuso too,” added Inzaghi.