Professional soccer is set to return to Italy, as Serie A play will resume next weekend. The sport will debut this weekend, though, as the Coppa Italia semifinal will complete its second leg on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, Napoli will host Inter Milan already up 1-0, having scored a crucial away goal in the first leg. In the other semifinal, AC Milan will visit Juventus; at the first leg, Juventus secured a 1-1 away draw and has the edge with that away goal. It will be interesting to see how much rust the two sides have after so much time between competitive matches. If you want to include Italian soccer in your weekend’s sports betting, read our preview of this semifinal tilt. Let’s see how the Coppa Italia Odds will be for the Napoli vs Inter.
Napoli vs Inter June 13 Coppa Italia Semifinal Odds & Picks
- When: Saturday, June 13, 2020, 3:45 pm ET
- Where: Stadio San Paolo, Napoli, Italy
- TV: ESPN+
- Radio: None
- Live Stream: ESPN App
- Coppa Italia Odds: Inter Milan +160 / Draw +210 / Napoli +160 / O/U 2.5
Why should you put your money on Inter Milan?
Inter Milan has had a dynamic offense all season long. In their home loss to Napoli, Romelu Lukaku had three shots on goal, but had each of them turned aside. Lautaro Martinez was not able to make his usual mark on offense. Now the team needs to win by at least two goals in order to advance, and another goal for Napoli would make it even more difficult for Inter to advance, given that they already have that away goal.
Lukaku and Martinez have scored 16 goals in away fixtures this season. That makes them the top duo in any of the five top European soccer leagues. While there may be some rust in terms of time away from play, there should be no lack of rest — although fitness could be a problem. Inter made it to the semifinals thanks to a big 2-1 win over Fiorentina, and neither of the two top scorers tallied. Instead, it was Nicolas Barella and Antonio Candreva who came through. That sort of depth should help Inter, but they will need to do better against a resolved Napoli back line.
Why should you bet on Napoli?
That win in the first leg was no fluke for Napoli. They had a five-match unbeaten streak across all competitions, with just two losses in their last ten matches. They had already taken down the defending Coppa Italia champions when they beat Lazio, 1-0, in the quarterfinals. The team has drawn a real benefit from changing managers; since Gennaro Gattuso took over, the team has played 15 matches across all competitions, losing just five. Attackers Akradiusz Milik and Dries Mertens have combined to score 24 goals across all competitions on the season.
Inter did solve Napoli the last time they played there, as Lukaku put up a brace and the visitors delivered a 3-1 whipping. That will be what Inter wants to do this time, but they had started to flag a bit ahead of the COVID-19 hiatus, as they had only two wins in their last five matches across all competitions — and both of those wins came against Ludogorets, a Bulgarian team that they faced in the Europa League. The other three matches were all losses, all to Lazio, Juventus and Napoli in Coppa Italia play. If you are going on form ahead of the shutdown, then Napoli makes a lot of sense.
Napoli vs Inter Final Score Prediction
Both teams are likely to come out showing a bit of rust, but there should also be plenty of energy. Based on how Napoli was playing before the sport paused, I like them to defend their home field (even without any fans in the stands) and to push forward to the finals. It would not surprise me, though, to see Napoli get an early goal and play conservatively, even if that means a draw. I predict a final score of Napoli 1, Inter Milan 1.
