All of the major sports outlets in Italy are tipping England international John Stones to make his first Serie A start when Inter take on Napoli in San Siro on Saturday evening, and he could go head-to-head against his long-term former Manchester City teammate Kevin De Bruyne in one of the weekend’s stand-out clashes.
Stones in line to make full Inter debut against Napoli
According to the likes of Sky Sport Italia, La Gazzetta dello Sport and the Corriere dello Sport, Stones is likely to be included in Cristian Chivu’s starting line-up for the first time since joining on a free transfer at the end of his 10-year Manchester City spell earlier this summer.
The 94-time England international has come off the bench in the closing stages of Inter’s first two Serie A matches of the season – the 4-1 win over Monza and last weekend’s 1-0 victory away against Cagliari – but is still waiting for his full competitive debut in Nerazzurri colours.
That is likely to come on Saturday at home against Napoli, who will be without star midfielder Scott McTominay, unavailable as he prepares to have a minor procedure on his heart. Fellow England internationals Djed Spence and Curtis Jones could also be involved, but are not expected to start this weekend.
Stones’s former Manchester City colleague De Bruyne is expected to be involved for Napoli, but Saturday’s pre-match reports indicate that Antonio Vergara is likely to start over the Belgian instead of McTominay in Massimiliano Allegri’s midfield three.
Click here to read more about how today’s teams could line up.
