Football Previews
Napoli coach Rafa Benitez firmly believes his team can finish second in Serie A and clinch direct qualification to next season’s Champions League. The Naples outfit go into Sunday’s home game against Sampdoria in fourth place in the standings, five points adrift of Lazio, who are second. With seven games remaining and Napoli hosting Lazio in their final game of the season on May 31, Benitez is not ruling anything out. “Provided we continue to do well in the domestic competition, we can still overtake Roma and Lazio to finish second,” Benitez said to the Italian press. “If we can reduce our deficit with Lazio to three points then we can go into our final game with all to play for. “To play in next season’s Champions League is crucial for our club.” Napoli still have an option to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition if they win the Europa League. Benitez’s side were held to a 2-2 draw by Wolfsburg on Thursday but progressed to the semi-finals of the competition with a 6-3 aggregate win. Napoli will take on Ukrainian side Dnipro in the last four next month. “We will not underestimate Dnipro,” Benitez said. “They are a club of international level and the fact they have eliminated Olympiacos, Ajax and Brugge is proof of it. “We will have to prepare for this tie. In the meantime, we need to focus on Serie A.” Napoli followed their 3-0 victory over Fiorentina with a 3-0 triumph at Cagliari last weekend. The azzurri have lost just twice at the San Paolo stadium and take on a Sampdoria side that is also in contention for European football next season. Samp are in the midst of a three-match winless run. Last weekend’s goalless result against Cesena dropped Samp to fifth in the standings, three points adrift of Napoli. “This draw felt like a defeat,” a frustrated Samp coach Sinisa Mihajlovic said. “Of course, when you don’t score goals it’s impossible to win games.” Mihajlovic’s men have mustered just one goal in their last three league games. “There are still seven games remaining and anything can happen,” Mihajlovic said. “Destiny is still in our hands. “But we need to be more clinical in front of goal.” Mihajlovic will have all of his players available while the hosts are without midfielder Christian Maggio, who is suspended.
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Team
MP
W
D
L
F
A
G
P
1
SSC Napoli
12
8
2
2
19
9
+10
26
2
Atalanta
12
8
1
3
31
15
+16
25
3
Fiorentina
12
7
4
1
25
10
+15
25
4
Inter Milan
12
7
4
1
26
14
+12
25
5
Lazio
12
8
1
3
25
14
+11
25
6
Juventus
12
6
6
0
21
7
+14
24
7
AC Milan
11
5
3
3
20
14
+6
18
8
Bologna
11
4
6
1
15
13
+2
18
9
Udinese
12
5
1
6
15
18
-3
16
10
Empoli
12
3
6
3
9
10
-1
15
11
Torino
12
4
2
6
15
18
-3
14
12
Roma
12
3
4
5
14
17
-3
13
13
Parma
12
2
6
4
16
18
-2
12
14
Verona
12
4
0
8
17
27
-10
12
15
Como
12
2
4
6
13
23
-10
10
16
Cagliari
12
2
4
6
12
22
-10
10
17
Genoa
12
2
4
6
9
22
-13
10
18
Lecce
12
2
3
7
5
21
-16
9
19
Monza
12
1
5
6
10
15
-5
8
20
Venezia
12
2
2
8
11
21
-10
8
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