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Important points in race for spot 3

The winner to get in position three in the Serie A table

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Sampdoria and Napoli meet head-to-head in Genova to decide who will get Serie A spot three after 13 rounds, meaning motivation won't be a problem for either side. Sampdoria are a pleasant surprise this season, having lost only to Inter in Milano when Icardi scored from a penalty kick very late in the game. What Sampdoria need are wins - they recorded only one in the last 6 rounds and did not do brilliantly in the away game with Cesena last round.

Mihajlovic wants three points against Napoli:

- We are not the favorite, but more powerful teams don't always win. After all, we dropped two points against Cesena and Cagliari so far and we could have gotten a point against Inter. We have two different faces - one when playing home and the other one when playing away, which is why I told my players that good teams and good people are never two-faced. All due respect to Napoli but we want to make up for those two points we lost in Cesena here. To be able to do so, we need determination and efficiency when attacking. I'm sure we'll have the proper attitude, and if not, I'll make sure my teams spend less than a happy week.

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Sampdoria's coach has no trouble with injuries. Only Mesbah and Soriano struggled with minor injuries last week, but both are on the list. Goal keeper Viviano is 100% fit and ready, which means we'll have to wait and see whether Argentinean international Romero will stay on the bench. Also, the second center back position might be assigned either to Gastaldello or Romagnoli. 

Napoli lost one out of the last 13 games, but not many are happy with their draws with Calgari in Serie A and Sparta in Europe League. The latter gave Napoli a great chance to qualify for the next stage of they beat feeble Slovan in two weeks, but the draw with Calgari was a failure in Napoli's bid for Serie A third spot. The team from Naples took an early lead and went on to create numerous attempts, but in the end got only a point.

Benitez doesn't expect an easy task in Genova:

- Sampdoria are a good team with a good game that are good when it comes to stopping opponents from scoring. We need to work on that, we need to bring the number of goals we concede from passive attacks to a minimum. We are focused only on getting the three points and not only because this is a direct battle for spot three. I was angry after the Calgari game, but the players know they made some mistakes and they're now ready for a new win.

Defender Zuniga and forwards Michu and Insigne are out with injuries, but good news is, Benitez can count on Mertens again. It is possible he will be among the starters, but it is more likely that Hamsik, Callejon and De Guzman lead Napoli's attack with Higuain. David Lopez, Inler, and Jorginho are all available for the two center back position, while Benitez has Ghoulam and Mesto to count on for Zuninga's right back position.