Soccer-Napoli hold edge in Serie A's grand finale
(Reuters) - Napoli may be stumbling towards the finish line following back-to-back draws, but they remain in pole position ahead of Inter Milan going into their final Serie A matches on Friday.
With 90 minutes left in the season, Napoli hold a one-point advantage over Inter after a campaign in which the two teams have regularly swapped places at the top of the standings.
Napoli host a Cagliari side safe from relegation, while Inter face a tough test at in-form Como who are unbeaten in their last eight matches.
The odds favour Napoli, with league president Ezio Simonelli due to be in Naples with the trophy ready for a potential coronation.
Napoli coach Antonio Conte is almost certain to be without midfield anchor Stanislav Lobotka, leaving the engine room duties to Scotland's Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay. At the back, injuries have ruled out Juan Jesus and Alessandro Buongiorno.
Inter boss Simone Inzaghi faces a raft of tough selection calls - and like Conte will be forced to watch the season finale from the stands due to a touch-line ban.
With the Champions League final looming and key players Lautaro Martinez and Davide Frattesi still short of full fitness, Inter may be forced to keep both on the bench or leave them out altogether.
FOURTH PLACE
The race for the final Champions League spot remains intense. Napoli, Inter and Atalanta have qualified and Juventus occupy fourth place, one point clear of AS Roma and two points ahead of Lazio.
Juventus, who need a victory to be sure of Champions League qualification, should be good enough to overcome second-bottom Venezia when they meet on Sunday.
Juve will likely be without injury-plagued midfielder Teun Koopmeiners while Nicolo Savona, Pierre Kalulu and Khephren Thuram all return from suspension.
Roma will say farewell to coach Claudio Ranieri in his last match, having turned around their season with only seven losses in his 35 matches in charge in all competitions before Sunday's game at midtable Torino.
Roma need Juve to drop points in order to have a chance to leapfrog them into the top four and with no new injury concerns, Ranieri is unlikely to make changes to his team.
Lazio close out their season with a home match against Lecce and their faint hopes of earning a Champions League spot rest on Juve losing and Roma also dropping points, while they beat their relegation-threatened opponents.
The mood at San Siro on Saturday will be anything but festive as AC Milan host already relegated Monza in what could be Milan manager Sergio Conceicao's final match - though he won't be in the dugout due to a suspension.
Ninth-placed Milan will have no European football next season and while a win in their final game might lift them a place or two, overall it has been a campaign to forget for the 19-times champions.
At the bottom of the table, the battle to avoid joining Monza in relegation is fierce. Venezia sit 19th with 29 points, while Empoli and Lecce share the final relegation spot on 31 points. Parma and Hellas Verona are also under pressure with 33 and 34 points respectively.
Empoli host Verona in Sunday's final match, while Parma face a tough trip to Atalanta, who have little left to play for.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Toby Davis)
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