An interesting clash looms large in the ongoing Coppa Italia, where Lazio are set to face Napoli in the second leg of their semi-finals encounter after finishing the first leg, 1-1.
The winner of the game is set for a final showdown with Juventus, who are still dreaming of a treble after defeating Fiorentina in the other semi-finals, 3-0 on Tuesday with an aggregate score of 4-2 favouring "The Old Lady".
Napoli coach Rafael Benitez wants his team to play an attacking brand of football against Lazio and win the game. The former Liverpool and Chelsea boss has an added advantage of an away goal.
"We'll go out onto the pitch with the idea of winning the game," Football Italia quoted Benitez as saying.
Both the teams love to attack and it could prove to be an open game thus the game has goals written all over it, but they must be careful of not providing huge spaces, increasing chances of conceding a goal.
"We're an attacking team. Lazio are a team which creates a lot, but which can also be exploited, so we must take advantage of the chances we get and not give them space."
It is not going to be an easy game for Napoli, who have been in poor Serie A form of late, where they have not won a single game in their last four matches. They have in fact lost against Verona as well and add to it their loss during the weekend against Roma, it might only have lowered their confidence.
Their influential skipper Marek Hamšík was on the bench against Roma, but the Slovakian's selection is not a surety in this huge clash as well. But, Napoli does not have dearth of quality players in their squad.
"We have [Dries] Mertens, [Jose] Callejon, Gabbiadini... many players who can play the same role," said Benitez.
"Marek is a professional who works very hard, so he'll get his chance, we'll have to see if he starts the game or replaces one of his team-mates."
The local fans will back Napoli, but the travelling team, Lazio are going to be a tough nut to crack, especially with the form they have shown of late, where they have hit top form winning their last seven matches.
They have thrashed teams like Fiorentina 4-0 and Napoli could meet the same fate if they fail to turn up. It would be no surprise if they even pip Roma for the second spot in the Serie A.
As far as injuries are concerned, Lazio will have to do without striker Filip Đorđević, who has been side-lined with an injury, hence, they would depend on Miroslav Klose to score goals for Lazio.
Stefan Radu, Abdoulay Konko and Santiago Gentiletti are other absentees for The Eagles, while Napoli also might miss players such as Walter Gargano and Gokhan Inler due to injury.
Where to Watch
The game is scheduled for a 12:15am IST (7:45pm BST, 2:45pm ET) start, with live coverage on Ten Action and Ten HD in India.
Catch the action in the UK live on Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports 3 HD, with an option to live stream the match online on Sky Go. US viewers can watch the game live on beIN Sports with an option to live stream on beIN Sports Connect.
Viewers in Italy can watch it live on RAI Uno.
