Serie A: Will title and relegation be decided by play-offs?

The 2024-25 Serie A winners will be decided by a play-off, should Napoli and Inter Milan finish the season level on points.

In 2022, the league reintroduced a rule which means teams who are contesting the title or battling relegation will face each other in a play-off if they have the same number of points, regardless of goal difference or head-to-head record.

Napoli lead Inter by a single point going into the final weekend of the season.

Should Napoli lose their final match of the campaign at home to Cagliari and Inter draw away at Como, the two title-chasers would both have 79 points after 38 Serie A matches.

They would face each other in a one-off match on Monday, 26 May at either the San Siro in Milan or, for safety reasons, Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

A play-off could also determine which team is relegated.

Like England’s Premier League, Serie A is a 20-team league where three teams are relegated.

As it stands, 17th-placed Lecce, who are away to Lazio, and 18th-placed Empoli, who are at home to Hellas Verona, are both on 31 points. Parma (16th) are two points ahead, and Hellas Verona (15th) are three ahead.

Should a relegation play-off take place, it will be a two-legged match with each side playing a leg at their home grounds.

Both legs will be completed before Sunday, 1 June.

There has only ever been one Serie A play-off match previously. It was a relegation decider at the end of the 2022-23 season, as Spezia lost 3-1 to Hellas Verona at a neutral venue.

All other league positions where teams are level on points are decided by head-to-head record.