Atalanta – Lazio

By: cathal | November 29th, 2008

Lazio will travel to Bergamo tomorrow to face mini-rivals Atalanta in what promises to be an intriguing tie.

This game should be exciting for a variety of reasons. Atalanta are a very capable side with a lot of talent and they can cause anyone problems as they have already demonstrated this season. We, on the other hand, are much the same, if slightly better but considering they have home advantage and our fans are not allowed to attend the stadium, I think this makes the two of us match up quite nicely.

We have faced them once this season already in the cup and that turned out quite nicely. At first glance, this is a tough but winnable tie, but with a bit of analysis, you can see why we could struggle. As I mentioned in the preview for that game, there are always variables when we play each other.

One such variable is the injury sagas that emerge and there have been a few this week. Zarate is now fit after a slight injury concern earlier this week, however Pandev is out. He has picked up a muscle strain which can be of no surprise to anyone as he has looked spent in the last few weeks. That would usually mean we would line up with Za-Fo-Ro but it seems Foggia is also in doubt. He has managed to contract the flu and will probably face those last minute fitness tests that have become a bit of a theme at Lazio. With Rocchi as the only surefire (ish) starter in attack, expect a surprise or two.

Potential surprises are Mauri and Manfredini. Should Pasquale miss the game, one or even both of these men could step in. Siviglia is also out. Again, muscle problems are the contributor. When is Rossi going to learn? We’ve been banging on at theoffside about their apparent fatigue problems for weeks. If we can see it, how come Delio, who watches them every day in training can’t see it? I don’t get it. Anyway, Siviglia’s absence means another game for the Rozehnal-Cribari combo. I always thought that one would work despite the fact it shouldn’t on paper but let’s see how we do in keeping out Atalanta. It’s an away tie, which pretty much means Radu and Lichtsteiner will feature. I guess we still have a strong team even if those who are in doubt don’t make it.

Atalanta have a strong team but they also have some injury trouble. Luckily for us, Cigarini is one of them. He’s probably their mose creative player and goals could be hard to come by in his absence. In saying that, they have Doni, who is not what he used to be but still puts considerable fear in me and Floccari who should also start and he has been fairly prolific this season. All in all, they have a good side with a few weapons and we must be vigilant.

Lotito has been going on about signing two “bombs” in January. If we are to believe him, then they could well be Ivanovic of Chelsea and Bertolo of Banfield. Ivanovic has a Claudio deal written all over it; a young defender who can’t get into the first team who is available on loan and maybe could be bought out. I was wondering why Lotito didn’t make a move in the summer when Branislav was linked with Milan and Juventus but it seems as though he was just biding his time. As for Bertolo, I know nothing about him other than he is just another Argentine midfielder that we’re linked with.

If ever we need two bombs, it is now. Currently out of form, we are struggling to kill teams and we need some kind of impetus to get it going again. Perhaps Delio can fire the boys up for the weekend? Who knows. What is clear is that we need three points because with Milan and Inter next week, I wouldn’t be expecting the best run of games. Let’s get the result we want and move on from there. Forza Lazio!