AS Roma vs Napoli preview - Ibarbo ready for final run

Posted Friday, April 03, 2015 by PA

Roma striker Victor Ibarbo believes he and his teammates must treat the remaining 10 Serie A games as if they are all finals.

The Eternal City club hosts a Napoli outfit in a battle of Champions League hopefuls on Saturday.

The Giallorossi have suffered a drop in form in 2015 that has not only seen them fall out of the Scudetto race but also put a top-three finish in danger.

They are 14 points adrift of league leaders Juventus.

A 1-0 triumph over Cesena last time out gave Roma their first Serie A win since February 8 and ensured the team remained second in the standings.

"It has been a tough spell for us," Ibarbo told his club's official website. "The win at Cesena was a big boost in confidence and reconfirmed our belief that we can go far.

"We just need to keep positive psychologically and make sure we get second place.

"The most important thing is that we keep believing in ourselves.

"I think that these last 10 games are all finals for us.

"There are a lot of teams behind us and they'll be trying to take advantage of any errors we make, but we deserve second place."

Roma, coached by French manager Rudi Garcia, hold a one point advantage over city rivals Lazio.

Napoli have won just one of their last six league games and their 1-1 draw against Atalanta last time out extended their winless run to four league games.

The azzurri, who unlike Roma are still alive in the Europa League and the Coppa Italia, have dropped to fifth in the standings.

Rafa Benitez's side is five points adrift of Lazio, who hold the last Champions League qualifying spot.

"The game against Roma is crucial," Napoli goalkeeper Mariano Andujar said. "We are still very much in the race to finish third.

"We will battle against Roma and Lazio to qualify for the Champions League but we cannot underestimate Fiorentina and Sampdoria, which are also there."

Roma will be bolstered by the return of midfield pair Seydou Keita and Miralem Pjanic from suspension but are without injured forward Gervinho.