Bastoni: ‘Inter did not need revolution, on guard against Napoli’

Alessandro Bastoni warns Inter must be ‘on guard’ because Napoli will be fired up to put their recent problems behind them, but is sure Cristian Chivu is ‘the right coach’ for the task.

It kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s four Serie A games on the Liveblog.

Napoli are the reigning Champions of Italy after pipping Inter to the title in the final day last season, but have struggled to balance European commitments with Serie A football this time around.

They have lost four of their last seven games, whereas the Nerazzurri are on sparkling form with seven consecutive victories in all competition.

“We went through moments like that too, and we know that a wounded team will be even more fired up than usual to give their all in front of these passionate home fans, so we’ve got to be on guard, Napoli will come out fighting,” Bastoni told DAZN Italia.

It had been said that this ageing Inter side had to be totally torn apart and rebuilt after Simone Inzaghi’s departure, but Chivu is making the best out of essentially the same players.

“Teams that have to be revolutionised don’t reach the Champions League Final,” insisted Bastoni.

“We needed to be shaken up, as losing two Champions League Finals in three years is tough, it’s not easy to start from scratch every time. We found the right coach in Chivu, he showed understanding, and we are glad to have him here.”