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Napoli coach Rafael Benitez

Close race for European berths heats up final stretch

DPA/Rome

Roma and Napoli meet in Rome tomorrow with both looking to end their stuttering runs as the Serie A season gets into its final stretch.
The Rome Giallorossi still sit second with 10 games left despite having performed poorly since January, clinching just three wins from 12 games and crashing 2-0 at home to Sampdoria in mid-March.
A 1-0 win at lowly Cesena the following week lifted their spirits as they try to stay ahead of city rivals Lazio, trailing one point adrift in the race to secure direct access to the Champions League, which is reserved for second place.
“The victory at (Cesena’s Dino) Manuzzi certainly changed our course as we needed a positive result to bounce back,” defender Davide
Astori said.
“Fiorentina, Lazio and Sampdoria are having good seasons, as well as Napoli, who, beside the last two outings, are a team who can fight for the top positions.”
The Naples side won once in the last six games, slipping five points from third place, which gives access to the Champions League play-offs.
A 2-0 crash at Verona and a 1-1 home draw to Atalanta held them to fifth place on 47 points from 28 games. Samp are fourth on 48 when they welcome Fiorentina (46) in another big match.
“In April, we’re scheduled for no less than eight games, and they’re all very important, even crucial,” Napoli coach Rafael Benitez told The Mirror this week. “And then another eight or nine in May. We’re still competing in three different tournaments and this club has the opportunity to reach great objectives.”
Beside the domestic league, Napoli tackle Lazio Wednesday in the return leg of the Italian Cup semi-finals and are to meet Wolfsburg in the quarter-finals of the Europa League the following week.
The Serie A calendar ensures a high-tension finale, with Lazio playing at Napoli in the closing game and meeting Roma the previous week.
But first a visit to struggling Cagliari awaits Lazio as they seek a seventh straight win.
“Having Roma ahead of us certainly gives us an extra stimulus,” Lazio captain Stefano Mauri said. “The rivalry is very strong in the city.  Everyday we feel a strong pressure and the fans urge us to reach the Giallorossi. But we must look at our affairs; only this way we can get results.
“Juve are the strongest team at the moment. They have always had something more. Finishing second would surely feel like a title.”
The title holders welcome Empoli at the Juventus Stadium in a late
game that closes a 29th round entirely played tomorrow ahead of the Easter festivities.
Roma v Napoli is the early match, followed by Inter Milan v Parma, Palermo v AC Milan, Atalanta v Torino, Genoa v Udinese, Verona v Cesena and Sassuolo v Chievo.


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