Revealed: Why Serie A could move entire final round of fixtures forward as rivals Napoli and Inter face potential title play-off

The final round of fixtures of the ongoing Serie A season may be moved from its traditional Sunday slot to Thursday night, as league officials prepare for the possibility of a title-deciding playoff between Napoli and Champions League finalists Inter. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia) and other Italian outlets, Serie A is considering a midweek rescheduling of matchday 38 to accommodate a potential Scudetto showdown without disrupting Inter’s European campaign.

Inter currently sit one point behind Napoli with two league games remaining. If both teams finish level on points, league rules require a one-off Scudetto playoff to determine the champion. With Inter set to face PSG in the Champions League final on May 31, Serie A is considering moving the final round to Thursday, May 23, allowing the potential playoff to take place that weekend and giving Inter ample preparation time for their UCL showdown.

With Napoli and Inter seemingly locked in the title race until the final day, they have already sealed their spots for next season's Champions League. So have Atalanta, who beat Champions League hopefuls Roma on Monday to qualify for the premier club competition in Europe. That leaves just one more spot up for grabs from the Italian top-flight. As many as five teams - Juventus, Lazio, Roma, Bologna, and AC Milan - remain in the hunt to make the fourth and final berth their own. Both Juve and Lazio are level on 64 points. Roma find themselves in sixth position with 63 points, while Bologna (62 points) and Milan (60 points) occupy the seventh and eighth positions on the Serie A table, respectively.

As of now, the official kick-off times for the final round have not been announced. The penultimate matchday, however, will take place this Sunday, May 18, with nine games, including high-stakes fixtures like Roma vs AC Milan, Inter vs Lazio, and Parma vs Napoli, scheduled to kick off simultaneously in the evening.