from SOCCERAGE:
03/16/2004. BACKGROUND:
At the 'Olimpico' Stadium of Rome, Lazio will host Juventus for this season's first leg of the Coppa Italia final.
What is usually regarded as the least important trophy of the season, this year's final means a lot for both teams as it is their only chance of winning any silverware. One can therefore expect both teams to play with their best possible teams and throw their best effort to achieve victory and save a winless season.
This is especially the case for Juventus who under the 8-year Lippi era have only missed out on winning any trophy in just one season (1998/99 season) and will therefore have extra motivations when going for this game.
Following Lazio's early exit from the Champions League in December, Mancini and company have been saying that their main objective this season, apart from the fourth place valid for the Champions League spot, is the Coppa Italia and the biancocelesti will not let the bianconeri ruin this objective.
During this season Lazio and Juventus have already met in December when in the same 'Olimpico' stadium the biancocelesti outclassed the bianconeri 2-0 as Juventus have not defeated the Roman side for over 5 years in all competitions.
The Laziali come from a 2-2 home draw against Udinese, with Spalletti's team achieving the equalizer in the 90th minute and thus Lazio failing to extend their lead on 5th place Parma. Juventus on the other hand come from a 3-1 home defeat against current Serie A leaders Milan, but even if the result is far from impressive, Lippi's squad showed their character and fighting spirit and would have probably deserved a draw.
The second leg will be played in two months time, so whatever the result in tomorrow's game might be, a change in form in May might swing the trophy to one side or another. Juventus might be especially happy about this as they currently have 6 players unavailable through injury, including Del Piero, Trezeguet and Zambrotta
TEAM NEWS:
Lazio - Gottardi, Negro and Muzzi will be the only unavailable players for Mancini as those three are still recovering from their respective injuries, with the latter picking up a knock during Lazio-Udinese.
Juventus - Lippi has 6 injured players, Del Piero, Trezeguet, Zambrotta, Montero, Birindelli and Iuliano, while Ferrara is suspended and will therefore have to play a central duo of Legrottaglie and Tudor, where the latter has just recovered from his umpteenth career injury and will therefore not be at 100%.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Inzaghi S. (Lazio) - On his return to first team football following his hand injury, Inzaghi proved he's still got what it takes to score and he can be an important weapon for Mancini for the end of this season to help the biancocelesti achieve the Coppa Italia and fourth league place.
Di Vaio (Juventus) - The Italian forward had an excellent start to the season, scoring many and importnat goals for the bianconeri, however the return of Trezeguet in the first team limited Di Vaio's space at Juve and consequently his form andn umber of goals decreased. It's his chance to show that he is a Juve player and that it would be a mistake to sell him in summer.
PROBABLE FORMATIONS:
Lazio (4-3-3): Peruzzi; Oddo, Stam, Mihajlovic, Favalli; Giannichedda, Liverani, Fiore; Cesar, S. Inzaghi, Corradi
Juventus (4-3-1-2): Buffon; Thuram, Legrottaglie, Tudor, Pessotto; Camoranesi, Tacchinardi, Appiah; Nedved; Miccoli, Di Vaio
PREDICTION:
With Juve's recent bad tradition against Lazio, and the current form of the Italian champions added with the big number of injured players, it seems highly unlikely that the bianconeri can achieve mor ethan a draw from this encounter. Lazio to win 2-1.