Italian club Napoli boosted their chances of qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League next season after a 2-0 win over relegation threatened Novara during the weekend. Along with this result, the fact that other teams chasing the Champions League positions dropped points.
This meant that Napoli are currently fighting against the likes of Lazio and Udinese with an advantage on their hands. Only a few matches remain in the Italian Serie A this season. Napoli were extremely good in the domestic league up until the 4-1 Champions League defeat at the hands of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge a few months ago.
Since then, Napoli have been struggling to get results, which in turn has enabled the likes of Roma, Udinese, and Lazio to take advantage in the race for the third position. However, the club seem to have finally put behind their defeat at the hands of Chelsea by winning the match against Novara 2-0 after goals from Edinson Cavani and Paolo Cannavaro in the first half sent them to a comfortable victory. It would be very difficult to fit into their form, as Novara are struggling against relegation in the 18th position. However, the draw by Udinese against Chievo meant that Napoli have now moved into the fifth position just behind Udinese.
Even more advantageous for Napoli is the fact that Udinese will be facing Inter Milan next weekend. Even though this match will be at home, Udinese will face a tough time in getting past Inter Milan. This would give Napoli the perfect opportunity to get into the fourth position, as we get into the crucial part of the season. Napoli have 51 points so far, while third placed Lazio – who will get the final qualification spot – have 55 points on the board as of now.