Preview Napoli Vs Lazio: The Battle For Champions League Tickets Increasingly Fierce
JAKARTA - Separated by two points and a place in the Serie A standings, fifth-placed Napoli meet closest rivals Lazio (sixth) on Thursday, 22 April evening local time.
For both teams, the odds of a place in the top four remain alive as they sit near the top of the table ahead of the match.
Sunday's 1-1 draw against leaders Inter leaves Napoli just two points behind fourth-placed Juventus. However, the margin widened again after the Bianconeri beat Parma 3-1 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, although Christian Eriksen's clinical strike canceled out an Inter own goal that gave the Azzurri the lead, it can hardly be considered a disappointment for Napoli.
The reason is, coach Gennaro Gattuso has actually managed to bring his team back to the top four since leaving the Europa League in February.
Only Inter have suffered fewer defeats than Napoli and Lazio in Serie A in the last two months. Gattuso's men have even extended their scoring streak at least once in every game since the start of this year.
Do not stop there, Napoli also remain near the top of the category of teams that have conceded the least. With 35 balls into Alex Meret's net, they only lost to Inter and Juventus who conceded 29 times.
The Partenopei have won their last three home games against Lazio in the league. To that end, they hope to continue their strong performance at both ends of the field tonight, or Friday morning Indonesian time.