Napoli fans celebrate again in anticipation of soccer title

NAPLES, Italy: Napoli fans are celebrating again in anticipation of sealing the Italian league soccer title later Thursday. Thousands of supporters turned up outside the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples hours before the team’s game at Udinese in northern Italy.

Napoli can clinch their first Serie A title in more than three decades — since Maradona led the southern club to the 1987 and 1990 championships — if it wins or draws at Udinese. Napoli missed out on a chance to clinch the title when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Salernitana on Sunday and then watched as second-place Lazio beat Sassuolo 2-0 on Wednesday to again delay the celebration.

Still, Napoli hold a 15-point lead over Lazio with six matches to play and it’s seemingly only a matter of time before the title becomes official for the Partenopei. No team south of Milan or Turin have won the Italian league since Roma claimed the title in 2001.

The stadium in Naples will be open for fans to watch the game against Udinese on giant screens and a capacity crowd of more than 50,000 is expected. Also, 11,000 Napoli fans are expected to follow the team in Udine.