Luciano Spalletti will be hoping to secure Inter’s Champions League qualification against Napoli this weekend for two reasons, as discussed by Corriere dello Sport today.
The Nerazzurri will mathematically guarantee a second consecutive top-four finish with victory over Carlo Ancelotti’s side, but failure to pick up three points could leave them sweating on a result in the last 90 minutes of the season.
Spalletti will want to wrap things up on Sunday so he can avoid a repeat of last year’s heart-stopping finale against Lazio, but the Rome-based paper believes he will also be keen to avoid a final-day scrap against Empoli, the club where he first made his name as a coach.
“Destiny has decided Spalletti will face Empoli on the final weekend,” they explained.
“If Inter don’t beat Napoli this weekend they will have to secure their Champions League qualification against the Tuscan outfit, which would probably confirm Empoli’s relegation to Serie B. It would be a mixture of emotions for Spalletti.
“In any case, Spalletti’s two-year stint at Inter has helped the club to get back on the straight and narrow and it would be unfair not to recognise that.”
Inter will be hoping to build on their positive record against Serie A’s top six clubs when they face Napoli on Sunday.
The Partenopei have failed to score in all three meetings against Spalletti’s Inter so far, collecting two goalless draws last season before losing 1-0 on Boxing Day.
