Napoli-Inter: Gonzalo Higuain vs. Mauro Icardi
Azzurri and Nerazzurri are probably the most different teams in the whole Italian league. Napoli are getting praise and credit for their attractive style of play, while Inter have proved to be a very solid team, although Roberto Mancini’s men have also received lot of criticisms for their style of play which was recently labeled as “obsolete” and “boring”.
One thing that both the teams have in common is the defensive solidity. Inter and Napoli are the less beaten defenses of the league with seven and eight goals conceded respectively.
Roma alone have 17, two more than tonight’s opponents together.
Both the defensive lines will play a vital role in tonight’s clash as they’ll have to cope with Gonzalo Higuain on one side and Mauro Icardi on the other: two predators who come to life in penalty area and who will be the focal points of their respective sides.
The former Serie A top scorer netted four goals in 11 Serie A appearances, but after plundering the winner against Bologna roughly one month ago, the Nerazzurri star complained for not being involved enough in the team’s attacking actions.
Statistic confirm Icardi’s feeling as the 22-year-old could only make 162 passes, while his compatriot has never suffered from loneliness in the opponent’s danger area as he has 355 passes this term.
What is impressing about Icardi’s attacking performances is his stunning conversion rate as the Argentinean could only shot eight times towards his opponents’ goal, managing to score four times anyway.
No doubt that Icardi will let his feel do the talking in tonight’s game, not only trying to score but also helping his attacking partners Stevan Jovetic and AdemLjajic to find the net of the goal, even if he has only one assist and ten goal chances created thus far.
As it stands above, Gonzalo Higuain can’t blame his teammates for not involving him in attacking actions up front. The 27-year-old has already netted 10 goals, just as much as Sampdroria’s frontman Eder, who is the Serie A top scorer along with the Argentinean.
Higuain scored one goal every 109 minutes, he registered two assists and created something like 20 goal attempts for Maurizio Sarri’s side.
The former Real Madrid star seems to be the best Serie A striker so far and the Nerazzurri central defenders Joao Miranda and Jason Murillo will have to find the Argentinean’s weak point in order to prevent him scoring his 8th successive goal in home games, equalizing Diego Armando Maradona’s scoring record at the Stadio San Paolo.
Will Roberto Mancini’s defense get the better of Maurizio Sarri’s hit-man?
