Napoli take on Lazio at the San Paolo stadium in the last game of the Serie A season, with both sides battling it out for a place in next seasons Champions League play-offs.
Last weekend Napoli had the opportunity to go level on points with Lazio for at least 48 hours as the faced a Juventus who had rested a lot of first team players. A 3-1 defeat to the Serie A Champions and Lazio knew they only needed one point to qualify to the Champions League play-offs.
Lazio lost to their arch rivals Roma in the Derby della Capitale 2-1, a result which still means they need just a point to finish in third place. However a Napoli win will see them overtake Lazio in the table on head to head results and finishing level on points.
Past Meetings
These sides have already met three times this season with nothing to separate them, Napoli have already beaten Lazio in the League this season 1-0 with a goal from Higuain. In the Coppa Italia Semi-Finals Lazio defeated their opponents 2-1 over two legs grabbing a decisive win away from home in the second leg.
Pre-Match Quotes
Rafa Benitez
“I would like to thank the President, the club and all the fans because after two years I’m finishing my experience here with Napoli,”
“On Sunday we are facing a very important match and I want to conclude my two years here with a victory.”
Stefano Pioli
“This game will be decisive. Nobody must dare use the term ‘flop’ or ‘disappointment’ for Lazio’s season, no matter what happens tomorrow.”
“Who deserves third? We’ll know after tomorrow night. There’s no point saying anything else. I asked my players the same question, they know the answer.”
“Our objective this season was to bring back the passion. The attitude of the fans fires us up. I think we’ve laid the foundations for a Lazio that in future can achieve great things.”
Starting Line-Ups
Napoli: Andujar, Maggio, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam, David Lopez, Inler, Callejon, Hamsik, Mertens, Higuain
Lazio: Marchetti; de Vrij, Gentiletti, Mauricio; Basta, Parolo, Cataldi, Lulic; Candreva, Djordjevic, Felipe Anderson
Players to watch:
Gonzalo Higuain
The Argentine striker could well be leaving Napoli this summer with English sides Arsenal and Manchester United rumoured to be interested in the player. It’s business as usual though as the Napoli striker has scored 26 times this season, Benitez will be hoping he is in one of his better moods after poor performances in the last month for the club.
Felipe Anderson
The Brazilian could well be in many people’s Team of the Season after some outstanding performances for Lazio with 10 goals and 7 assists in Serie A keeping out Balde Keita out of the side.
The post Napoli vs Lazio Match Preview appeared first on Italian Football Daily.
from Italian Football Daily http://ift.tt/1Jhvs3R
via IFTTT berita selengkapnya Follow @jadwalliga
