There is title-defining action from Serie A on Friday, with Como hosting second-placed Inter and leaders Napoli taking on Cagliari, while Betis take on Valencia in the solitary La Liga fixture.
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Friday football tips
Bet of the Day – Napoli to win and under 3.5 goals @ 21/20
Napoli are approaching the final weekend of the Serie A season with a one-point advantage over second-placed Inter and they can get over the line by defeating 14th-placed Cagliari at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Serial winner Antonio Conte was brought to Napoli last summer with a brief to improve the fortunes of a club which had finished 10th in the previous campaign.
The 55-year-old signed a three-year-contract but was impatient to improve standards and has taken the club to the brink of their fourth Scudetto in their history.
However, Conte will be taking nothing for granted against Cagliari, who are long-standing rivals of Napoli and will be desperate to spoil the party.
Napoli were 4-0 winners in last September’s reverse fixture in Sardinia which featured a seven minute delay as crowd trouble erupted between both sets of fans.
But they have been less free-flowing in recent games and were held to a 0-0 draw away to Parma last Sunday – presenting a glorious opportunity to Inter, who squandered it by drawing 2-2 at home to Lazio.
Conte’s side won’t expect another slip up from Inter and will be anxious to remove all doubt by taking maximum points.
They should get the job done although it might be a modest margin of victory over Cagliari, who have a spring in their step after last Sunday’s 3-0 win at home to relegation-threatened Venezia.
Special of the Day – Como vs Inter – Marcus Thuram to score anytime @ 7/5
Inter are sure to keep abreast of events in Naples but their priority will be to focus on their clash away to Como, which has the potential to be a testing encounter.
Como were Serie B runners-up in 2023-24 and have followed by nailing down a creditable 10th place in their first top-flight campaign since 2002-03.
Cesc Fabregas’s side have excelled since the end of March – taking 19 points from their last seven matches – but may struggle to keep a lid on Inter, who have a Champions League final to look forward to and are refusing to give up on their title defence.
Inter have lacked a truly prolific striker with 14-goal Marcus Thuram topping their Serie A scoring charts.
However, Thuram showed a big-match temperament by scoring the opener in the Champions League semi-final tie against Barcelona and he can find the net this week.
Longshot of the Day – Betis vs Valencia – Valencia win and both teams to score @ 21/5
There won’t be much riding on the La Liga contest between sixth-placed Betis and 12th-placed Valencia at the Estadio Benito Villamarin, although the visiting side could be worth backing to get the victory.
Betis cannot finish any higher or lower than their current mark and their thoughts are on preparing properly for next Wednesday’s Conference League final against Chelsea.
The Andalusians will be anxious to avoid picking up injuries in the build up to a major final and any loss of intensity could be exploited by Valencia, who have shown improvement under former West Brom manager Carlos Corberan.
Valencia have won five of their last nine matches and can wrap up their season with maximum points, although a clean sheet may elude them against Betis, who have scored in 19 successive matches.
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