Lazio v Lecce kicks off at 12:30 CEST LIVE
Against Lecce, in August, Lazio suffered their first defeat of the season, which kicked off a complicated period; it is precisely against the Giallorossi, in the first match of the second half of the season, that Maurizio Sarri's team wants to show that they have definitively changed and can aspire to a place at the 'table' of the Champions League, now three points away. The Biancocelesti are experiencing a great moment, given the positive streak of four wins (three in the league plus the last one in the Coppa Italia with Roma).
A few days before the 124th anniversary of the club's foundation and having disposed of the joy of last Wednesday's derby, which coincided with Sarri's 65th birthday, the Capitoline coach will set the best possible formation against the Salento (a difficult opponent for him, given that in seven previous matches in his career he has beaten Lecce only once, at the helm of Juve). Provedel is back in goal, absent due to fever against Roma; Lazzari and Marusic are confirmed on the wings, as well as the central pairing of Patric-Romagnoli. The good news in midfield is Luis Alberto's form: the Spaniard, who was knocked out on 22 December, has sped up his comeback and is fighting for a shirt with Vecino. In attack, there are two scenarios, given Castellanos' injury in the derby ("low/medium grade injury to the adductor region of the left thigh", reads the press release, is at risk for the Italian Super Cup on 19 December).
The first hypothesis is Felipe Anderson false nueve (but the Brazilian has a sore left calf), or, in the event of his full recovery, the return of Ciro Immobile. The captain is eager to return (he too was injured at Empoli, like Luis Alberto), but only today's training session will give Sarri the necessary indications whether to sign him or keep him on the bench.
The attacking wingers, with both Felipe and Immobile, will be Isaksen and Pedro, the match-winner of the derby.
In the event that Immobile manages to play from the first minute, Lecce will have to be very careful: the Biancocelesti captain has always scored in the last three games with the Apulians.
In 44 previous meetings against the Salento side, Lazio have totalled 20 wins, 12 draws and 12 defeats: at the Olimpico, the Biancocelesti's score improves a lot, with only one defeat, eight draws and twelve wins. However, in their last three meetings, the Giallorossi have put Lazio in serious difficulty, winning two and drawing one. Which is why the attention span will have to be very high, especially now that the fourth place Chhampions is visible again.
All rights reserved © Copyright ANSA