What do Napoli and Inter Milan need to win Serie A and can there be a play-off?

Napoli have a one point lead over Inter heading into the final round of fixtures

Napoli are the favourites to win Serie A this season (EPA)

Napoli can lift the Serie A trophy for the second time in three years if they defeat Cagliari on Friday evening in the final round of league fixtures.

Their main rivals are Inter Milan, the reigning champions, who sit just one point behind them in the table and are ready to pounce on any slip ups.

Antonio Conte's side are just one win away from securing Scudetto and could clinch their fourth Italian league title. They face 14th placed Cagliari this evening but will be without Conte after the manager was sent off against Parma.

Coincidently, Inter will be without manager Simone Inzaghi for their crucial clash with Como after the manager is also serving a dugout suspension. There are a few permutations that could decide the fate of Serie A tonight and we’ve broken them down below:

How can Napoli win Serie A?

The equation is simple for Napoli. If they defeat Cagliari on Friday they will secure the trophy and win a second league title in three years. The last time Cagliari beat Napoli was in 2019, and the Sardinia side suffered a 4-0 loss at home to Napoli earlier in the season.

How can Inter Milan win Scudetto?

Inter’s fate isn’t in their hands. They need to defeat Como and pick up three points whilst hoping that Cagliari pull off an upset and either draw or defeat Napoli. If one of those results happens and Inter take maximum points from their match then they will jump into first place and win the trophy.

Will there be a play-off?

In 2022, the Italian Football Federation announced a rule change that would see the title decided by a play-off should two teams finish level on points.

Should Inter Milan draw with Como and Napoli lose to Cagliari then both teams will finish on the same points tally in the league.

In that event a one-off play-off match would crown the winner.

The rule had been used previously before its reintroduction in 2022, and the only case of the Scudetto being decided by play-off was in 1964 when Bologna and Inter finished level on 54 points. Bologna won 2-0.

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