03 November 2006

Empoli - Lazio preview

Empoli (11 pts, 9th place)
vs.
Lazio (8 pts, 13th place)
15:00 CET (9:00 AM EST) Sun, Nov 5
Stadio Carlo Castellani, Empoli


US TV: none

Lazio looks to end its slump by avoiding a repeat of the disaster that occurred the last time they faced Empoli. (Last spring at the Olimpico a 3-2 victory turned into a 3-3 draw after a Massimo Oddo own goal in the waning seconds of injury time.)

However, last spring Lazio's offense was working effectively, with di Canio, Rocchi, and Pandev all scoring regularly. Today, Lazio has only scored a single goal in its past four games. It will be even more difficult to generate scoring chances with the biancocelesti's most offensive midfielder, Christian Ledesma, sitting out a match for a red card. Nonetheless, Delio Rossi maintains his famous confidence in the club:
Per me è solo mancanza di risultati, non siamo allo sbando perché ho già visto segnali di miglioramento. Abbiamo bisogno solo dei riusltati e mi auguro che arrivi domenica a Empoli
"For me only the results are missing, we are not lost because I have already seen signs of improvement. We just need the results and I predict that they will arrive Sunday at Empoli." Bravo Rossi (and I do not question his coaching style), but only goals will gain points to move Lazio up the table and contend for spots in Europe.

There are some issues due to injuries (Mauri will not play and Foggia may not be able to start) but there is no way Rossi will start this crazy thing that Gazzetta.it has come up with. Update: Never mind! Kataweb has indipendently confirmed that Rossi will in fact start this 4-3-1-2 formation and that the squad has been using in practice all week.

Peruzzi
Oddo-Siviglia-Cribari-Zauri
Mudingayi-Mutarelli-Mauri
Quadri
Pandev-Rocchi

How about this for a more realistic approach:

Peruzzi
Oddo-Siviglia-Stendardo-Zauri
Foggia-Mudingayi-Baronio-Mutarelli
Pandev-Rocchi

Look for Makinwa to get some time in the second half if he's feeling up to it.

Prediction: Empoli 0-1 Lazio.

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