The “marathon” fixture list could favour Napoli over the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, and Atalanta in the Serie A title race.

This is the view in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews.

In just a couple of days, the November international break comes to an end.

And that means the resumption of the Serie A title race.

At the moment, there are several teams locked in a heated battle in the top spots of the table of the Italian top flight.

Napoli sit top of the table. Then, just a point behind them are all of Inter, Atalanta, Fiorentina, and Lazio.

Juventus are a single point behind all of those.

And then Milan are a bit further back after an erratic start to the campaign. But there is a sense that they have the capability of recovering and getting themselves back into the hunt.

“Marathon” Fixture List Could Favour Napoli Over Inter, AC Milan, Juventus & Atalanta

Napoli will be feeling the pressure from all of these teams breathing down their necks.

But there is one potentially decisive advantage in favour of the Partenopei, notes the Gazzetta.

There are seventeen Serie A matches between now and the next international break.

That will be a gruelling fixture list for every team in the Italian top flight. With or without European football.

But for Napoli, there are only one or two other matches to worry about. Those will come in the Coppa Italia.

On the other hand, the Partenopei’s major title rivals are all participating in European competition.

That will mean juggling at least four more matches for all of the teams chasing Napoli. Potentially as many as eight, depending on where they qualify for the knockout rounds.

Then, for Inter, Milan, Juventus, and Napoli, there is the Supercoppa Italiana in January to think about.

That means a minimum of one extra match for each of that quartet. Plus the additional travel time.

And as if that weren’t enough, Milan will also have to squeeze in the game in hand they have against Bologna, which was pushed back due to flooding in Emilia-Romagna.

Inter can certainly tell their city rivals a thing or two about the perils about a rescheduled away match against Bologna after the 2021-22 title race.

Compared to these “marathon” sequences of matches, Napoli have comparatively smooth sailing on the way.