PA -- Amanda Knox could walk free from prison if an Italian court overturns her conviction for the murder of Meredith Kercher.
The young American is serving a 26-year jail term for killing the British student in what prosecutors said was a sex game taken to the extreme.
But she maintains she played no part in Miss Kercher's violent death and has been appealing against her trial verdict for the past 11 months.
The process will reach its climax with the judges and jury due to retire to consider whether to acquit her, uphold her conviction or - as prosecutors have requested - even increase her sentence.
Knox, 24, was found guilty after a year-long trial in 2009, along with her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 27, who denies any wrongdoing and has also appealed.
A third person, small-time drug dealer Rudy Guede, was convicted in separate proceedings and defence lawyers for Knox and Sollecito insist he acted alone.
Prosecutors say all three acted together.
Before jury deliberations begin, the former lovers will address the court in Perugia, where the murder took place.
The statements they will give represent their final chance to persuade jurors of their innocence, and Knox is said to have been working on hers for three months.
Leeds University student Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon in Surrey, was 21 when she suffered her brutal death. Her body was found on November 2, 2007 in her bedroom at the Perugia cottage she was living in. Her throat had been slit and her semi-naked corpse was partially covered by a duvet.