Napoli eye Scudetto as Inter hope for post-Barca bounce-back / Photo: © AFP/File
Napoli eye Scudetto as Inter hope for post-Barca bounce-back
Napoli are closing in on a second Serie A title in three seasons ahead of their trip to struggling Lecce on Saturday, the first of four matches against modest opposition which could confirm a stunning league crown.
Coach Antonio Conte has repeatedly stated that Napoli's position as Inter Milan's main rivals for the Scudetto would have been "unthinkable" at the start of the season.
And it is true that Conte has performed a minor miracle in taking a club still reeling from the worst title defence in Serie A history to three points clear at the top of the league with less than a month left in the season.
No-one would have imagined Napoli even challenging for the Champions League positions when, as Conte said, they began this season by melting "like snow in the sun" in a humiliating 3-0 defeat at Verona.
But Conte, aided by the key signings of Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay late in the summer transfer window, has created a new team on the ashes of the one which broke a three-decade title duck two years ago.
Napoli have already guaranteed at least a top-four finish but Conte can taste his fifth Scudetto as coach after a hat-trick with Juventus and the 2021 title won with Inter.
"It's all in our hands," said Conte after last weekend's 2-0 win over Torino, earned with a McTominay double.
"We worked really hard and are seeing the fruits of that labour... Seeing where we started from, that's remarkable."
It hasn't been all been easy going at Napoli however as Conte has made it very clear he wants serious investment in the team if he is to stay in Naples.
Conte is well aware of the advantage he has had by not having any European commitments in his first season at Napoli, as reigning champions Inter wobble under the weight of an exhausting campaign.
Inter held Barcelona to a thrilling 3-3 draw on Wednesday night and will probably be without captain Lautaro Martinez after he was forced off just before half-time in Catalonia with a thigh problem.
Just below Napoli and Inter the battle for the two remaining Champions League spots is extremely tight with six points separating Atalanta in third and eighth-placed Fiorentina.
Atalanta should at least stay four points clear of fifth spot as Gian Piero Gasperini's team take on doomed Monza, and also have the luxury of not playing at home where they have won just one domestic fixture since the turn of the year.
Meanwhile fourth and fifth do battle on Sunday night when Juventus travel to Bologna in a key test for both teams, and sixth-placed Roma's 18-league match unbeaten streak will be put to the test with the visit of Fiorentina.
Player to watch: Riccardo Orsolini
Winger Orsolini has been one of Serie A's best players this season and his goal against Inter 10 days ago both helped Napoli retake top spot and boosted Bologna's Champions League hopes.
The 28-year-old moved to Bologna in 2018 after failing to make the grade at Juventus and Atalanta, and he recently described his arrival at Juve from Ascoli a year before as a moment in which he thought he would never be good enough to play top-flight football.
Orsolini faces Juve with an opportunity to strike a blow against both his former clubs and secure Champions League qualification for the second straight season.
Key stats
3 - Napoli's points lead over Inter heading into the final four games of the season.
6 - The number of teams battling for two Champions League spots.
Fixtures (times GMT)
Friday
Torino v Venezia (1845)
Saturday
Cagliari v Udinese, Parma v Como (1300), Lecce v Napoli (1600), Inter v Verona (1845)
Sunday
Empoli v Lazio (1030), Monza v Atalanta (1300), Roma v Fiorentina (1600), Bologna v Juventus (1845)
Monday
Genoa v AC Milan (1845)
P.Murphy--TNT
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