The Olympic gold medallists both occupy first place in the overall standings.

Sprint events are scheduled tomorrow, before a classic race over 10 kilometres and men's contest over 15km on Sunday (February 27).

Klæbo's 1,183 points put him 368 clear of Russia's Alexander Bolshunov and 656 of compatriot Erik Valnes, who complete the top three.

No matter what the results in Lahti, Klæbo will remain in pole position.

The 25-year-old has worn the yellow bib since December 3 and won individual and team sprint titles at Beijing 2022.

Klæbo became the first athlete in history to win back-to-back gold medals in the Olympic cross-country sprint event after beating Italian Federico Pellegrino to the line.

The Norwegian also won bronze in the 15km classical, and silver in the 4x10km relay.

Although Klæbo is expected to compete, there are doubts over whether he has recovered from a stomach bug which cut short his race in the men's 50km freestyle mass start event in China.

Nepryaeva will be looking to build on a Beijing 2022 performance which saw her take gold in the 4x5km relay, silver in the 15km skiathlon and bronze in the team sprint classical, in Russian Olympic Committee colours.

She has 843 points so far this season, while Sweden's Ebba Andersson and American Jessie Diggins follow behind with 648 and 622 points, respectively.

Lahti is the first stop on the Cross-Country World Cup since the conclusion of the Winter Olympics on February 20.