The final day of the Serie A season throws up a mini final as Napoli and Lazio vie for a place in next season’s Champions League.
Two weeks ago, Lazio was looking at winning the Coppa Italia, finishing a truly remarkable second on the table and qualifying for the Champions League. Now, after successive losses to Juventus in the Coppa Italia final and Roma in the league, it faces the ignominy of missing out on both in what could only be described as a huge failure.
Napoli, on the other hand, after a disappointing and inconsistent season, has the opportunity to gain a small victory. Rafael Benitez’s team has the chance to snatch a place in next season’s Champions League, when after slipping to as low as sixth in March, seemed highly unlikely. A victory here would surely wash away the distaste of its Europa League semi-final elimination at the hands of Dnipro.
A draw for Lazio will be all it needs to hold onto third, while only a win will suffice for Napoli.
Key Battle – Gonzalo Higuain vs Stefan de Vrij
With Napoli needing to go all out for the win, there is little doubt that Gonzalo Higuain will play an important part in this game. He has had a hand in 35% of Napoli’s 68 goals this season, scoring 16 and assisting eight. His performance this season has been immense and no other attacking player in Serie A has been as effective in attack as Higuain.
Stefan de Vrij is three games back into his return from a serious knee injury and it is imperative he finds some form in this final game of the season. De Vrij is one of the key reasons Lazio is in contention for a Champions League place and the Biancoceleste need him to rekindle that dominant pre-injury form if they are to stop Higuain and come away with the point they require.
Team News
Napoli is expected to make a number of changes to the team that lost 3-1 to Juventus last start. Marek Hamsik and Manolo Gabbiadini, two players who have performed well for Napoli this season will, after starting from the bench against Juventus, return to the starting lineup. This will mean Lorenzo Insigne and Walter Gargano begin on the bench and as Juan Miguel Britos is suspended for his red card late in last weekend’s game, Ivan Strinic should return to the starting XI. Raul Albiol has been on a modified program all week with knee soreness but will certainly start.
Napoli expected starting XI: (4-2-3-1): Andujar (GK), Strinic, Maggio, Albiol, Ghoulam, Callejon, Mertens, Lopez, Hamsik, Gabbiadini, Higuain.
Lazio will field a largely unchanged team that narrowly lost to Roma in the Derby della Capitale. Lucas Biglia is the only injury concern after he was substituted as a result of a head clash in the derby but is expected to have recovered in time for this game. This will mean young starlet Danilo Cataldi will remain on the bench. Senad Lulic was substituted early against Roma after putting in a particularly poor first half, but is likely to keep his place in the starting XI after Luis Pedro Cavanda failed to impress.
Lazio expected starting XI: (4-2-3-1): Marchetti (GK); Basta, Lulic, de Vrij, Gentiletti, Parolo, Biglia, Mauri, Candreva, Anderson, Klose.
Previous Meeting
These sides last met in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final, with Lazio coming away from the Stadio San Paolo with a 1-0 win and progression to the final. Napoli, hosting the tie after a 1-1 draw away in Rome, started the game full of attacking intent, with Gabbiadini hitting the post from a free kick. Higuain was guilty of missing a number of chances throughout the game but it was the substitute Senad Lulic who was the hero of the tie. Felipe Anderson rolled the ball across the face of goal for Lulic to tap home the opening goal with 11 minutes remaining. At the other end, Lulic, minutes from time, cleared the ball off the line after an Insigne run almost resulted in the goal that would have sent the game into extra time.
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Prediction
With so much on the line for both sides, this match will have a cup-like atmosphere and you would expect an exciting game. Napoli will need to take the initiative as it requires a win and will play with plenty of attacking intent. Rafa Benitez, in his last game in charge, will ensure that his team leaves nothing in reserve. This may play into Lazio’s hands as the likes of Antonio Candreva and Anderson are dangerous on the counter-attack. Stefano Pioli will certainly set up Lazio to play in this fashion. A score draw is the likely result with Lazio securing its place in next season’s Champions League.
Napoli 1 Lazio 1
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