April 23 (Reuters) - Inter Milan's Serie A title march has gathered pace in recent weeks and, with a 12-point cushion and five matchdays remaining, the Scudetto could be sealed as early as this weekend should their rivals continue to drop points.
Inter are away to Torino on Sunday, where they must better the results of both Napoli and AC Milan over the weekend to clinch the title.
A Napoli home win over relegation battling Cremonese on Friday would only serve to delay the inevitable, and the defending champions' recent form does little to instil confidence.
Antonio Conte's Napoli lost at home to Lazio last weekend and drew at Parma in the previous round, allowing Milan to move back into second place with the sides level on 66 points.
Not that Milan have been setting Serie A alight. After their loss to Napoli, Milan fell to a 3-0 home loss to Udinese before edging Hellas Verona 1-0 last weekend.
If Napoli slip up, and Inter take care of business at Torino, the leaders would then need to wait for Sunday's late game between Milan and Juventus to see whether their title is confirmed.
CHIVU'S CORONATION
Cristian Chivu's Inter kept their double bid on track on Tuesday, coming from 2-0 down to beat Como 3-2 and reach the Coppa Italia final, and the manager's first season in charge is paying dividends after last year's trophyless campaign.
Chivu was part of Inter's treble-winning squad under Jose Mourinho in 2010, and while this season's Champions League ended in disappointment for the new boss, he is on course to deliver what would be just the third domestic double in the club's history.
Inter thumped Torino 5-0 on the opening day, but should face a stiffer task nine months on.
Torino's disappointing season saw them flirt with relegation and led to the sacking of Marco Baroni in February, but they are unbeaten in their last three games under Roberto D'Aversa, climbing to mid-table safety.
Free-scoring Inter should, however, prove too much for a Torino side that has conceded 54 goals this season, with only Pisa and Verona, the bottom two clubs, having worse defensive records.
Inter have netted 78 league goals, 30 more than Milan and Napoli, with 12 of those coming in their last three fixtures.
Torino were held to a scoreless draw at Cremonese last weekend, and the promoted side will travel to Naples in battle-mode as they fight to avoid a swift return to Serie B.
Cremonese sit one place above the drop zone but are level on points with Lecce, who occupy the first relegation spot and the visitors will hope to find a similar Napoli to the one that lost 2-0 to Lazio without registering a single shot on target.
In-form Juventus arrive at the San Siro looking to not only strengthen their grip on fourth place, which guarantees Champions League football, but a seven-game unbeaten run has them just three points off both Milan and Napoli.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
