Pescara vs Napoli preview - Mazzarri wants Champions League spot sewn up

Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri wants his side to wrap up qualification for the Champions League as quickly as possible, and three points at relegation-threatened Pescara would be the ideal start.

Mazzarri's men have a seven-point cushion over AC Milan in the hunt for Serie A's second automatic place in the group stages of next season's Champions League and the coach is not going to sleep easily until that gap can no longer be bridged.

"We need nine more points to be certain of second," he said. "We have five games and we've got to get them as soon as possible.

"Just remember that Milan were two points behind us and in the space of three weekends, they have slipped seven points behind.

"There are five games and, looking at the fixtures, anything could happen. To quote (Giovanni) Trappatoni, never say cat until you've got it in the bag."

While Napoli's path to the Champions League does not look so easy on paper with games against Inter Milan and Roma to come, this game should not cause them too many problems against the league's bottom side.

Forty four points separate the two sides in the Serie A standings, but Pescara's coach Cristian Bucchi is not writing off his side's chances, nor their top-flight future, too soon.

"If you look at the table, then this game should be prohibitive for us," he told Naples' Radio Marte.

"But the beauty of football is that sometimes all the predictions can be wrong, and that is what we are going to try to do against Napoli.

"We want to honour Serie A to the very end. Our destiny seems to be written already, but we won't give up until the end."