Napoli v AS Roma, Serie A: Where to Watch Live, Preview and Team News

Pepe Reina Napoli — Pepe Reina [Reuters]

Napoli play host to AS Roma at the Stadio San Paolo for the Serie A fixture on Sunday.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 7:45pm GMT. Live coverage of the game will be available on BT Sport 1.

Overview

Napoli come into this game on the back of a 1-1 draw against relegation threatened Livorno at the Stadio Armando Picchi in their last Serie A fixture. The away side took the lead in the 32<sup>nd minute when Dries Mertens scored a penalty after Goran Pandev was fouled inside the box.

However, their lead lasted only for six more minutes as Pepe Reina failed to control Ibrahima Mbaye's shot and the ball crossed the line off his hand. The result meant that Rafael Benitez's side remained third in the league table with 52 points from 26 matches.

On the other hand, Roma played out a goalless draw at home against Inter Milan at the Stadio Olimpico last Sunday. The crowd cheered with joy as the home side appeared to have taken the lead in the first half. Mattia Destro's shot came back off the post and eventually went in after bouncing off Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, but the linesman disallowed the goal for offside.

Rudi Garcia's side are second in the league table with 58 points, having played 25 matches and sit 11 points away from leaders Juventus, who have played one game more.

Last month, Roma and Napoli faced each other two-legs in the Coppa Italia semi-finals. However, the Naples based club got the better off the Italian capital outfit with an aggregate score of 5-3 over the two legs.

What Managers Say

Rafael Benitez: "The clash against Roma is a crucial match for us. Our aim is to reach the second place in the ranking in order to qualify for the UEFA Champions League directly next year. We have to win the match without fearing the importance of this competition. Afterwards we will see what is going to happen. Anyway we would like to win also to keep motivation for the Championship."

Rudi Garcia: "One thing's for sure, this is not a final. They still have 11 games to play, we still have 12. We're six points ahead of them and have a game in hand. If they lose, a second-place finish in Serie A would be almost out of the question for them, but the result makes little difference to us. We'll still be second with a game in hand. We'll take to the field and show a lot of ambition and I hope the best team wins."

Team Form

Napoli