Torino - Lazio preview

Torino (2 pts, 14th place)
vs.
Lazio (-5 pts, 18th place)
20:30 CET (2:30 PM EDT) Sat, Sep 30
Stadio Olimpico, Torino

US TV: FSC (delayed broadcast at 5:00 PM EDT)

Lazio will be looking for a third consecutive victory as it faces a promoted Serie B team for the second match in a row when they travel to Torino on Saturday. Perhaps Lazio will feel at home in the another Olimpico—the recently renamed "Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino," which has never held an Olympic event but was redubbed in honor of the 2006 Winter Games. Lazio should feel comfortable against a Toro squad which has struggled to put the ball in the net against weak teams, gaining only 3 goals and 2 points from matches against Parma, Siena, and Reggina.

Despite hopes of being suitable replacements in A for their neighbors Juventus, Torino is still playing B-level calcio. One of their strikers, Roberto Muzzi, said regarding Lazio, "Di loro mi fa paura tutto..."—"They scare me completely"! Coach Alberto Zaccheroni has announced that he will play with an extremely conservative 4-3-2-1 format. With any luck this will ease the burden on the Lazio back four, allowing Oddo to try to generate more chances through this strangely shaped midfield. As long as Lazio can crack the densely packed back seven once or twice, they should be in good shape.

As for Lazio, the standard starting team should be in, except Peruzzi, who has not been called up for the match to allow him extra time to recover from his wrist injury. Thus we will see:

Ballotta
Oddo-Siviglia-Stendardo-Zauri
Foggia*-Ledesma-Mudingayi-Mauri
Rocchi-Pandev

*Gazzetta seems to think that Manfredini will get the start instead of Foggia. I'm personally surprised Foggia has not started every match. He was bought as an injury replacement for Behrami, and should be playing in Behrami's post unless there's a compelling reason for him not to. As for the front two, Rossi has undying trust in Rocchi and Pandev, but look to see Igli play from the 60th minute on.

Prediction: 1-0 Lazio, goal by Rocchi if it's in the first half, goal by Tare if in the second.