With five matchdays remaining, there are only a couple of questions left: who between Roma and Como will secure a Europa League spot, and which of Cremonese or Lecce will avoid relegation.
Almost everything has already been settled. The final five rounds of the Serie A season are shaping up to be among the least compelling in recent years.
There is no longer a Scudetto race, with Inter cruising at +12 over second place and effectively having the title wrapped up—only the timing of the mathematical confirmation remains in doubt.
Milan and Napoli are virtually guaranteed Champions League qualification for next season, holding a nine-point cushion over fifth place.
Juventus, under Luciano Spalletti, have surged in the final stretch and now have a firm grip on fourth place, thanks to a five-point advantage over the chasing pack.
At the bottom end of the table, Pisa and Verona are already relegated to Serie B, while Cagliari are still in danger. Genoa, Parma, and Fiorentina, meanwhile, have essentially secured their top-flight status.
Barring unlikely twists, only two verdicts remain: who will qualify for the Europa League and which team will be the third to go down.
In the race for Europe—albeit for the lesser of UEFA competitions—the battle is between Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma and Cesc Fàbregas’ Como. Level on 58 points in fifth place, only one will retain the spot that guarantees Europa League qualification, while the other will drop into sixth, meaning a place in the Conference League.
In the relegation battle, the fight is between Cremonese—now led by Marco Giampaolo after replacing Davide Nicola—and Lecce, coached by Eusebio Di Francesco. Unless both sides produce a surprising late surge and Cagliari simultaneously collapse, it appears to be a two-team fight.
The absence of both a title race and a genuine battle for Champions League spots in the final stretch inevitably drains excitement from the closing stages of the season. Rarely have the final rounds of a Serie A campaign carried so little weight.
L’articolo Serie A: Almost Everything Already Decided proviene da Soccer Made In Italy.
