Napoli test perfect ahead of final, says Bavagnoli

Andressa Alves will have the chance to prove her fitness ahead of the Coppa Italia final as Roma Women finish their Serie A campaign against Napoli on Saturday.

The Giallorosse travel to Naples in what remains an important game for both sides – a win for Betty Bavagnoli’s side will guarantee them a top-four finish, while the hosts know only a victory will absolutely guarantee they avoid relegation.

Roma will also see the game as a final tune-up before the Coppa Italia final, which takes place against AC Milan the following Sunday.

“We are getting into a really exciting finish to the season,” Bavagnoli told Roma TV.

“First we’ve got a big game on Saturday, which is really important both for us and our opponents, and then of course there is the final as well.”

Saturday’s game could see Andressa Alves return to the starting line-up after a long absence through injury, as the Brazil international looks to prove her fitness prior to the final.

“In Andressa we’ve got a player coming back that we haven’t had available to us for a while,” Bavagnoli said.

“That’s great for us. She clearly needs to get some minutes under her belt, so it will be a good test for her too.”

She added: “Moving on from the last result [a defeat against Juventus], we’ve tried to analyse where we went wrong, what our shortcomings were and where we can improve. We've been working well.”

Bavagnoli hopes the game against Napoli will prove ideal preparation for the final – a stern test that keeps the competitive sharpness high for all the players in the squad.

“I’m pleased we are going up against a side that are capable of hurting us and will do everything to hurt us,” she said.

“That will mean we need to focus throughout and produce the best performance we can – and hopefully that will ensure that we continue on the course of improvement and maturation that we have been on, both for Saturday’s game itself and also heading into the final the following week.”

Saturday's game takes place at 12:30 CEST. It will be streamed live on Roma TV+.