Lazio eye top spot
Posted November 23, 2002 - 15:24 by Mattias
Whisper it, but Roberto Mancini's Lazio came into the weekend knowing that
victory over Modena could take them to the top of Serie A.
If Bologna win at Juventus and the Milan derby was to end in a draw, then the
troubled Rome club, currently fourth, will be sitting proudly at the Serie A
summit for the first time since they won the title in 2000.
They are up for sale, and a host of leading players have been sold, but Lazio
are fighting back and showing great form on the pitch.
on Sunday, Mancini has to decide whether to select those players who are sure
to be feeling the strain of a big week of international football.
Defenders Jaap Stam and Fernando Couto appeared for Holland and
Portugalrespectively, defender Sinisa Mihajlovic and midfield man Dejan
Stankovic were on duty for Yugoslavia, while striker Claudio Lopez played for
Argentina in Japan.
If Mancini decides to rest Lopez, who has two long-haul flights inside a week
under his belt, then Simone Inzaghi and Enrico Chiesa will battle it out for
the right to partner Bernardo Corradi in attack.
And Inzaghi, who has been struggling with injury throughout the season, is
keeping his fingers crossed that Mancini will give him the nod on Sunday.
"I am hopeful of getting a game," said the sometime Italy international.
"I still have a few aches and pains that are troubling me, but I am confident
of being able to make a decent contribution if selected."
But the tempatation must be to throw in former Valencia star Lopez, who scored
twice against Como last weekend and is finally showing the kind of form that
saw him inspire Valencia to the Champions League final in 2000.
His partnership with Corradi has been one of the revelations of the season,
and, with three league goals to his name and countless assists, Lopez is a
good bet to be one of the players of the season.
But Lazio fans expecting a hatful of goals against newly-promoted Modena could
be in for a nasty shock.
Giovanni de Biasi's men have collected 18 points from their opening 10 Serie
A matches, and they currently lie seventh in the table.
Striker Giuseppe Sculli, who played for Italy Under-21s in midweek, faces a
race against time to be fit for the clash at the Stadio Olimpico, where he
scored the winning goal against Roma earlier in the season.
Sculli has been training on his own after collecting a knock while with the
Under-21s, but Modena's coaching staff are said to be hopeful that he will
recover in time to take his place alongside Diomansy Mehdi Kamara in attack.
If the former Juventus player fails to make it, he will be replaced by Carlo
Taldo.
sportinglife
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