Lazio – Elfsborg

By: cathal | August 19th, 2009

Lazio’s latest European adventure is about to begin. Tomorrow evening, the esteemed Stadio Olimpico will host one of Sweden’s finest, IF Elfsborg as both sides bid to escape the dreaded play-off round and enter the first ever Europa League. We will go into the game knowing that this is only the first half, with the return leg to come next week and if ever we needed a clean sheet, now is the time.

I would love to say that we will enter the fray with a full strength squad but ultimately, I can’t. No Pandev, no Ledesma, no De Silvestri, no Stendardo, no heart or soul in Firmani and that is naming just a few of those who have not been selected for this round. Instead, we will have to make do with our good friends in Mauri and Baronio. Happy days.

Between the sticks should be the fast becoming irreplaceable, Muslera. The not too pacy Elfsborg forwards could push Ballardini into selecting Cribari and Siviglia (yes, Siviglia) with Kolarov and Lichtsteiner providing support on the flanks. Roberto will sit in the holding role which is rightfully Cristian’s while Stefano and the tireless Brocchi sit either side of Matuzalem in the centre of the park. Zarate will obviously start in attack and Cruz will probably get the nod to start ahead of Rocchi. All in all, there’s not too many changes from the side that beat Inter in the Supercoppa and for some reason, that excites and alarms me at the same time if that makes any sense at all. Just to clarify, here is the squad I expect and Lalaziosiamonoi expects:

Lazio (4-3-1-2): Muslera, Kolarov, Cribari, Siviglia, Lichtsteiner, Baronio, Mauri, Brocchi, Matuzalem, Zarate, Cruz.

As for Elfsborg, they actually play the 4-2-3-1 system that we looked to adopt in pre-season and from what I have seen of them, I am slightly worried. Firstly, there is that emphatic win in the last round against Braga who are European veterans; that result alone says they are a threat. Another advantage they have over us is superior fitness levels. They are halfway through their season, sitting pretty in the higher echelons of the table and if we let them dictate the game, we have a problem. I also think the fact that they play away first gives them a considerable advantage because if they squeak a goal, they have something to build on in Sweden. On top of all that, they’re actually a half decent team. The goalkeeper, Covic is hit and miss but who is to say he won’t have a stormer tomorrow? Teddy Lucic and Anders Svensson might ring a few bells with many people and that attacking quartet; ex-Genoa flop, Ishizaki, the very talented duo of Bajrami and Avdic and English striker, Keene could cause us problems. We cannot afford to take the opposition lightly and I don’t think we will but don’t expect us to stroll through this tie; Elfsborg are better than that. Forza Lazio!

PS. I am going to follow up the issues we have regarding our participation in the Yahoo Fantasy Serie A game. When I have all the correct details, I will leave a comment on this post about it. Also, check the comments section to for stream possibilities prior to the game and if you have any queries, feel free to ask and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.