Udinese vs Napoli preview - Napoli close on Champs League place

Posted Friday, April 18, 2014 by PA

Napoli striker Lorenzo Insigne is hoping his team can build on last weekend's triumph over Lazio when it takes on Udinese at the Friuli Stadium on Saturday.

The Naples outfit bounced back from its 1-0 defeat at Parma with Sunday's 4-2 win over Lazio.

The outcome allowed Napoli to maintain their stronghold on third place and the last Champions League qualifying spot.

Napoli are nine points clear of nearest rivals Fiorentina with five games remaining.

"We really needed that win against Lazio," Insigne said. "We have taken three very important points to consolidate our third position.

"Now we must think about our next two games against Udinese and Inter Milan before we take on Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia final."

Victory at Udinese coupled with a Fiorentina defeat to Roma would guarantee Napoli a third-placed finish and would allow Rafa Benitez's players to turn their attention to the Coppa Italia final on May 3.

Napoli have not won in Udine since the 2007-08 campaign.

Udinese players go into the contest with criticism from club owner Giampaolo Pozzo ringing in their ears after their 2-0 defeat at home to Serie A leaders Juventus on Monday.

The loss, Udinese's 17th of the campaign, dropped Francesco Guidolin's side to 14th place.

"We didn't play well," Pozzo said. "It's true that Juve is strong but other times when we have faced them we at least had a good performance.

"It felt like my team was playing in a friendly.

"It has been a bad season for us and we don't seem to find our path.

"I hope that in the last few games we are able to show some pride."

Napoli are without the services of suspended winger Dries Mertens but are hoping to recover the team's top scorer Gonzalo Higuain, who is doubtful with a thigh injury sustained in training.

Higuain scored a hat-trick against Lazio to increase his goal tally to 17.

The hosts will be bolstered by the return of midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu from suspension.