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Rafa Benitez on the Sparta Prague game and Dries Mertens' recovery

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Napoli boss Rafa Benitez says the focus is on tomorrow's away game against Sparta Prague in the Europe League.

The Partenopei and the Czechs lead Group I and the Spaniard is aware of the strength of Vítezslav Lavicka's side.

"I know Sparta, they are strong but I want my team to win the game," Benitez said on Wednesday.

"[On Sunday] I was angry at the end of the game, we didn't control the game and failed to close it out despite having a number of opportunities.

"We lacked the same intensity of the first thirty minutes of the game and that was our biggest mistake.

"But we're improving and we have to look forward, to tomorrow's game here in Prague.

"I came here when I was at Chelsea and I know it's not easy to win here. They are very organised and work to put Lafata in a scoring position, he scored a lot of goals thanks to his teammates' contribution.

"[Rotation?] I'm yet to decide the line-up, all I can say is that De Guzman is not 100% fit so we will have to make changes. And with many games coming up, all players will be involved."

Asked to give an update on Dries Mertens' recovery, Benitez said: "I don't know [if Mertens will be fit for the Sampdoria game], he's slowly recovering but he should be ready soon if he continues to train on a regular basis."

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Dries Mertens, Rafa Benitez



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