Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour on brink of Napoli immortality amid more Serie A gong nominations

The equation is simple for Napoli and their Scottish midfield duo of Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour: beat Cagliari at home on Friday and Napoli will be crowed Serie A champions for only the fourth time in their history.

Excitement is reaching fever pitch in Naples, a football-daft one-team city that has dreamt all season of winning the Scudetto. In what has been an epic title race with defending champions Internazionale, it all comes down to the final day of the season after both sides drew last weekend.

Those results suited Napoli, though, who will be thankful that their 0-0 draw with Parma was not pounced upon by Inter, who led not once but twice at home to Lazio, only to end up with a 2-2 stalemate.

Napoli sit top of the Serie A standings on 79 points, one clear of Inter on 78. Third-placed Atalanta are on 74 and out of the equation despite threatening at times to make this a three-horse race.

Inspired in particular by McTominay, Napoli have been up there from the word go. Manager Antonio Conte did not necessarily eye up the title this season but with no European football after an underwhelming 2023/24 campaign and some very shrewd signings, they have developed into a tough nut to crack. Out of 37 league matches this season, they have only lost four times.

Napoli’s clever signings

Conte plundered the English Premier League market last summer and the three men he has brought in have proved to be gems. The £25 million spent on McTominay to Manchester United continues to look a bargain, especially when you consider that the Old Trafford side sold the Scot to fund a £50m capture of Manuel Ugarte. The Uruguayan was an unused sub as United lost the Europa League final on Wednesday in the midst of a quite dreadful campaign.

We’ll talk more about McTominay later. His former Man Utd teammate Romelu Lukaku, signed from Chelsea, has been just as vital in his first season at Napoli, leading the line with his usual strength and scoring 13 goals in 35 appearances. With experience of doing well in Italy from previous spells at Roma and Inter, he has dovetailed neatly with McTominay, Giovanni Raspadori and Matteo Politano behind him.

Napoli’s exploits should be given further praise when you consider that Georgian superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was sold to Paris Saint-Germain for £70m in January. The wide forward had been a talismanic figure for Napoli for a few seasons but the biggest compliment you can pay Conte is that he has reconfigured his team to mask his absence.

McTominay has stepped up to fill the poster-boy status that Kvaratskhelia once held. He has scored 11 goals and laid on six assists in 33 appearances. He has won a player of the month award once and is nominated for May - and if he takes that one, would become only the second player in the gong’s history to land it consecutively. On Wednesday, he was shortlisted for Serie A’s most valued player against Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui and Fiorentina’s Moise Kean, and midfielder of the year alongside AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders and Inter’s Nicolo Barella. Napoli fans love him so much that they have named a pizza after him, called the McFratm. Square sausage is one of the key ingredients.

What a tremendous decision it was by McTominay to move to Italian football. The same can be said of his Scotland teammate and former Rangers youngster Billy Gilmour, who made the switch from Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer too. The 23-year-old has flitted in and out of the midfield, competing with Stanislas Lobotka to play alongside McTominay and Frank Anguissa, but having played 25 matches, he can be more than happy with his contribution as a 6. The ex-Chelsea man is likely to start on Friday.

Napoli have the easier match on paper

There will not be a spare seat at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Anticipation is sky high. Their opponents, Cagliari, travel over from Sardinia with the spectre of relegation banished after winning last weekend at home to Venezia. Davide Nicola’s men have very little but pride to play for in Naples.

The same can be said of Como, who are Inter’s opponents 820 kilometres north of Naples at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia. Managed by former Arsenal and Spain great Cesc Fabregas, they are booked for tenth in Serie A but on paper look a far tougher opponent than Cagliari.

Inter are chasing a double, given that they are in the final of the Champions League against PSG a week on Saturday. Their European adventure has clearly hampered their title charge back in Italy but Simone Inzaghi’s team are exceptionally obdurate and experienced. Inter have more muscle memory of winning titles but their destiny is ultimately out of their hands. They will hope that Cagliari can do what Genoa did a couple of weeks ago, earning a surprise 2-2 draw at Napoli to throw them a Scudetto lifeline.

No Scots have ever won Serie A. Back in 1905, Jack Diment and James Squair from these shores won the Italian top flight with Juventus when it was known as the Campionato Prima Categoria. There can be no underestimating the feat that awaits McTominay and Gilmour.

It is simple for them: beat Cagliari and it is done and dusted. A draw would allow Inter in so long as they win at Como. Should Napoli lose and Inter draw, then a ‘spareggio’ one-off play-off would take place next week as both teams would be on 79 points with an identical head-to-head record following two 1-1 draws this season.

TNT Sports are showing both matches simultaneously on Friday night. The two games kick off at 7.45pm. Many Scottish viewers are anticipated. It is not every day that not one but two Scotland internationalists stand on the brink of calcio glory.