Napoli vs Genoa preview - Napoli not giving up - Armero

Posted Sunday, April 07, 2013 by PA

Napoli winger Pablo Armero claims the destiny of the Serie A title remains undecided as the Azzurri continue their pursuit of Juventus at home to Genoa.

The re-emergence of Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani after an eight-game goalless streak has given Napoli renewed belief they can close down Juve's nine-point lead over the eight-game season run-in.

His brace decided a 3-2 victory over Atalanta before he scored twice from the bench to seal a 5-3 win at Torino last time out, with team-mate Armero now warning Juve to look over their shoulders.

He told La Repubblica: "Nothing is decided yet and maybe Juve will drop some points. All we can do is our best and try to win every game, starting with the one against Genoa.

"Of course I'm hoping to play from the very beginning, so I'm working as hard as I can to reach my top level.

"I'm at (coach Walter) Mazzarri's disposal and I hope I get the chance to prove what I can do, should he decide to start me."

Cavani, who is now one goal short of registering 30 for the season, thanked his colleagues for supporting him through two barren months.

"We are having a great season and we have emerged as protagonists," he said. "I would like to thank the team for all the help they have given me - we all want to work together to achieve our goal."

Mazzarri has no injury or suspension concerns against 17th-placed Genoa, who were beaten 6-1 at the San Paolo last season before two subsequent meetings yielded 11 goals.

Rossoblu defender Thomas Manfredini serves a one-match ban, with Antonio Floro Flores, Marco Rossi, Antonio Donnarumma, Daniel Tozser and Enis Nadarevic all struggling for fitness.

After making a strong start to his tenure, Genoa head coach Davide Ballardini finds his side just one point above the relegation places.

He said: "There are eight games left and we need to hold on tight to 17th place knowing that by the end of the season we have to have earned our survival.

"Since I've been here we've played five away games and four at home, against some big teams, so getting 10 points from those nine matches is not bad.

"But I'm sure that we need to do even better than that before the end of the season."