The China Mail - Inter return to tough Scudetto defence after treble dream dies

Last weekend's last-gasp defeat at Bologna left Inter ahead of Napoli on goal difference and Simone Inzaghi's team will have to dust themselves down from a 3-0 loss to AC Milan on Wednesday which cost them a place in the Italian Cup final.

Inter host Roma on Sunday afternoon in a match which was pushed back a day so that it and two others didn't clash with Pope Francis' funeral, which will be held at St Peter's Square in Vatican City on Saturday.

The Pope's death on Monday, and the five days of nationwide mourning then declared by the Italian government, caused a fixture reshuffle which has done Inter little good ahead of their trip to Barcelona for next week's first leg of their Champions League semi-final.

Inter already looked tired when falling to Riccardo Orsolini's stoppage-time bicycle kick at Bologna, and they now have one day fewer to prepare for Barca after a painful defeat to Milan.

"It's pointless denying it (that his players are tired) but we have to keep going. There's obviously some mental and physical tiredness but we have to be stronger than the fixture list," said Inzaghi on Wednesday.

At least seven more games await Inter between now and the end of the season, after which the three-time European champions jet off to the United States for the revamped Club World Cup and a minimum of three group matches.

The Gazzetta Dello Sport reports that Inter were given the possibility to play on Saturday night but that the club decided that would cause enough controversy to effectively cancel out the benefit of an extra night's rest before Barca.

Roma should be tricky opponents for Inter as Claudio Ranieri's team are unbeaten in 17 Serie A matches and still in the hunt for Champions League football.

The capital club are three points behind fourth-placed Bologna and one of five teams contesting the final spot in the top four.

Napoli meanwhile have a clear opening to claim their second Scudetto in three seasons with Sunday's match with 10th-placed Torino the only one of their remaining five fixtures against a team in the top half of the table.

However all is not well in Naples with coach Antonio Conte openly criticising the club for lack of investment in the team and even the training ground.

Conte could be without David Neres for the rest of the season after the ex-Brazil winger tore a muscle in his left calf in training, an injury that the fiery former Italy manager blamed on Napoli not relaying the pitches at Castel Volturno.

Neres was signed last summer but became a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia following the Georgian star's January move to Paris Saint-Germain, and he has performed well for Conte.

Player to watch: Lautaro Martinez

Fourteen goals since the turn of the year have made captain Martinez Inter's man for the big occasion, and he will have to put in another shift against Roma with the champions thin in attack.

With Marcus Thuram still out with a hamstring injury, Martinez will be flanked by one of Inter's three replacement strikers, none of whom have convinced when either he or Thuram have been unavailable.

Wednesday's comprehensive defeat at the hands of Milan featured another anonymous display from Mehdi Taremi, while Marko Arnautovic has only shown flashes of talent in his outings up front.

Key stats

71 - The number points Inter and Napoli have gathered this season.

10 - Inter will have to play a minimum of 10 more matches between now and the end of June, compared to Napoli's five.

Fixtures (times GMT)

Friday

Atalanta v Lecce (1845)

Sunday

Como v Genoa, Venezia v AC Milan (both 1030), Fiorentina v Empoli, Inter Milan v Roma (both 1300), Juventus v Monza (1600), Napoli v Torino (1845)

Monday

Udinese v Bologna (1630), Lazio v Parma, Verona v Cagliari (1845)

C.Fong--ThChM