Napoli vs Cesena preview - Benitez keen to bounce back

Posted Sunday, May 17, 2015 by PA

Napoli will try to bounce back from the disappointment of their Europa League elimination by taking all three points against Cesena on Monday.

The Naples outfit suffered a 1-0 reverse at Dnipro on Thursday to lose 2-1 on aggregate.

They missed out on playing in their first European final since the 1988-89 campaign.

"We had our chances in both legs but we weren't able to make them," Napoli coach Rafa Benitez said on his club's official website. "The key to progress was to make the most of our opportunities and we didn't."

Thursday's loss was a bitter pill to swallow as Napoli's hopes of competing in the Champions League rest solely on a third-place finish in Serie A.

Heading into this weekend's round of games, Napoli were fourth in the standings, four points behind Roma and three adrift of Lazio.

Lazio's 1-0 victory at Sampdoria on Saturday, however, allowed them to leapfrog Roma into second place.

Roma can reclaim second place with a win over Udinese.

"We have to dive back into Serie A and this disappointment has to spur us on domestically," Benitez said. "We need to concentrate on our last three games of the season because we still have a possibility to qualify for the Champions League.

"I am confident we can end the campaign well."

The azzurri face a challenging end to the season with a game at Italian champions Juventus to follow while they end the campaign at home to Lazio on May 31.

Napoli, with just one victory in their last three league games, were held to a 2-2 draw at bottom-side Parma last weekend.

However, Benitez's side is unbeaten at home since a 3-1 defeat to Juventus on January 11.

Cesena are 19th in the standings and already relegated.

They travel to the San Paolo stadium with nothing to play for except pride.

The Seahorses lost 3-2 against Sassuolo on Sunday to ensure their demotion.

The defeat was Cesena's 18th of the campaign and dropped them 12 points below safety with just three games remaining.

Cesena, coached by Domenico Di Carlo, have won just four games all season, with their last victory on March 1.