Preview: Roma hoping to stretch win streak
La Maggica have won all of their last five matches in all competitions and will be hoping to keep their good form going when they face third placed Napoli in a Coppa Italia clash. Garcia’s men booked a place in the last four of the competition with a 1-0 victory over league leaders Juventus, who only over two weeks prior to the match had thrashed Roma 3-0 in a league encounter.
Their loss against Juventus was their only defeat this season in all competitions and under Rudi Garcia the Giallorossi have surely outperformed and will be looking to make the most out of their good form by booking a place in the final of the Coppa Italia for the second successive season.
Last time Roma won the competition was back in 2008 when they defeated Inter Milan by a 2-1 scoreline and now chase their 10th Coppa Italia title. The Lupi occupy the second spot in the league table owing to their good form and trail leaders Juventus by 9 points with a game in hand.
Roma’s fixture against Parma over the weekend was abandoned due to unfavourable weather conditions which has given Garcia’s men a prolonged rest. His counterpart Rafa Benitez has claimed that Roma will have the upper hand when the two sides meet owing to the extended rest they have enjoyed.
“I believe Roma are favourites because they have not played at the weekend,'' Benitez said in Tuesday's press conference.
“It's not an excuse, it's the truth.”
The Spaniard also demanded improvement from his own players after Napoli suffered their worst defeat of the season at the hands of Atalanta last time out.
“We made a lot of individual mistakes against Atalanta, which is unsual,'' Benitez said. “However, we didn't play well and I expect a better performance at Roma.''
Rudi Garcia on the other hand refuted the claims made by Benitez and reiterated that the extra rest will not help his side. However the Frenchman is of the belief that Napoli’s loss to Atalanta last time out could spur them in producing a better performance.
"A rest could benefit us and it could not," he told reporters.
"Napoli played and lost though, and I think that'll have an effect.”
"From a physical point of view we'll be fine, but we won't be in the rhythm that you have when you play - we haven't taken to the field for 10 days now."
Napoli last triumphed in the competition back in 2012 when they scored a 2-0 victory over Juventus and will be hoping to book a place in the final of the tournament for the third time since 1997.
Roma won both the matches between the two sides last year, including a 2-0 victory over the Partenopei earlier in the season courtesy of a Miralem Pjanic brace.
Gonzalo Higuain, Marek Hamsik and Lorenzo Insigne are expected to start against Roma after being rested in the last match against Atalanta. However Napoli will continue to be without long term absentees Valon Behrami and Giandomenico Mesto. New signing Jorginho who has been omitted from Napoli’s Europa League squad will be keen to impress and is likely to feature over the course of the match.
Rudi Garcia on the other hand will have the derby against Lazio on his mind as he makes his team selection for the Coppa Italia tie. Roma clash against their City rivals on Sunday and Garcia is expected to make a few changes in order to keep players fresh for the weekend encounter.
Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores
Watch AS Roma vs Napoli live on Wednesday, February 5, 2014:
In Canada at 14:45 ET on beIN Sports Play Canada
In US at 14:45 ET on beIN Sports Play
The match can also be internationally viewed on William Hill.
For complete details of match listings and live scores, visit the AS Roma vs Napoli match page.
