After Juventus and AS Roma tied up the first two Serie A UEFA Champions League Qualifying spots, it was left to Rafa Benitez's Napoli and Vincenzo Montella's Fiorentina to battle it out for the third and final qualification spot. Deservedly across the course of the Serie A season, Napoli need just two points from their final three fixtures to secure UCL football at the Stadio San Paolo for another season, and for Fiorentina, they will be using that for motivation when they travel to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to take on 'Partenopei' on Saturday night in the Coppa Italia Final and avenge their failure to secure UCL football at the Stadio Artemio Franchi for next season. 

Former Roma and Italy Forward Vincenzo Montella now in charge of The Viola has stated that he wants to finish this season with securing 4th position in Serie A and capturing the Coppa Italia title; "The whole club wants to win the Coppa Italia, and it's a focus to finish strongly in the league finish fourth." He told journalists during a press conference this week. The 'Gigliati' (Lilies) last lifted the Coppa Italia in the 2000-2001 season, where they defeated Parma, 1-2 across the two legs, where the Final was still played across two legs, each side played a home fixture. Montella also mentioned that he would have ideally liked to have all of his full squad available. Front men Giuseppe Rossi and Mario Gomez will not make the Final. Rossi has been out since the return of his knee ligament injury, and he faces a battle to make the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, whilst German International Gomez has been plagued by injury, and has made just 9 appearances in all competitions this season. Both players have travelled with the squad to Rome, however. Montella faces the possibility of missing key midfield man Borja Valero - who sustained a knee injury in the Viola's 0-3 triumph in Bologna last Serie A matchday. Colombian Juan Cuadrado will miss out through suspension. Cuadrado was booked in the final minutes of Fiorentina's 2-0 victory over Udinese which saw Fiorentina progress to the final with a 3-2 aggregate win. Goalkeeper Norberto Neto is also doubtful to make the game after he picked up a finger injury in mid-week.

However in the other camp, Napoli have been bolstered by the confirmation of fitness of top goalscorer, Argentine hitman Gonzalo Higuain. Napoli fought off competition from Arsenal and Juventus to sign the Real Madrid Striker for £34.5m in the summer. Higuain suffered severe bruising to the shin during Napoli's 0-0 draw with Inter at the San Siro last week, and it was looking unlikely that he would make the game. However Benitez said Wednesday "He is confident that Higuain will recover." Benitez is optimistic that his side can lift the Coppa Italia in Rome on Saturday. "Fiorentina keep the ball and have character. But we hope to lift the Coppa because people's evaluation of our campaign will also depend on this final. What ever happens, I consider our season a success." He told Italian press this week. Benitez is confident he can lead Napoli to Coppa glory in his first season in charge in Naples.

Napoli overcame Atalanta and last season's champions Lazio, before overcoming AS Roma in a two-legged Derby Della Sole en route to their 10th Coppa Italia Final. Fiorentina disposed of Siena, Chievo Verona and Udinese in a 3-2 Semi Final aggregate thriller to reach their 11th Final.Napoli have claimed a single point more than the Viola in their last six matches (11-10). Fiorentina however will have 30,000 supporters in Rome, and their recent meeting with the Naples side suggest there is little to put between the two sides ahead of the Coppa Italia Final.

Predicted Starting XI's:

Fiorentina (4-2-3-1) : Neto, Pasqual, Rodriguez, Savic, Tomovic, Pizarro, Valero, Joaquin, Aquilani, Vargas, Ilicic.

Napoli (4-2-3-1) : Reina, Ghoulam, Albiol, Fernandez, Henrique, Inler, Jorginho, Insigne, Hamsik, Callejon, Higuain. 

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About the author
Ryan Taylor
European Football writer.