Sarri dealing with Lazio attacking problems for Coppa Italia semifinal: ‘Not easy’

Lazio strikers Tijjani Noslin, Daniel Maldini and Boulaye Dia are not fully fit for Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final against Atalanta: ‘It’s not easy to pick a line-up in these conditions,’ said the Biancocelesti coach Maurizio Sarri.

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Lazio will visit Atalanta in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals on Wednesday, and the Biancocelesti’s coach Sarri previewed the game at a pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

Atalanta vs. Lazio: Sarri’s pre-match press conference

Lazio will be without  Ivan Provedel, Nicolò Rovella and Samuel Gigot, while Adam Marusic returned to group training this morning.

“There isn’t a match worth the whole season, because it is assessed across all the games. It’s a single match, which is important,” Sarri said via TMW.

“One single game doesn’t change my judgment on the whole season. Atalanta are similar to Napoli; there are similarities, but there are also different individual players.

The Lazio boss provided the latest team news too: “Noslin has a slight knock; we’ll see if he improves before tomorrow,” he said.

“The same goes for Maldini. He is clinically healed, but it’s more difficult for him because he has a chronic tendinopathy. He has some positive moments, but at other times the inflammation affects him. We are talking about a lad who has trained once in 20 days. I don’t know how much he can play, but he can play tomorrow.

“Dia is feeling quite well; when you are unsure whether a player can play 90 minutes, it would be ideal to start them so you don’t waste a slot. But I’m limited to three or four players; otherwise, I have to use all the slots in the first half. It’s not easy to pick a line-up in these conditions.

“Marusic trained with the rest of the team for a good part. We have a new training session tomorrow morning, and we’ll see. He’s been on the sidelines for a couple of weeks and has trained with us for the first time since then,” Sarri added.

“Four or five players are out already, so I can’t take risks with everyone. Rovella seems to have received the green light from doctors to make contact with the operated shoulder. He’ll train separately for one more week and then resume group training.

“Basic struggled a lot in Florence, but did much better against Napoli. I’m happy to play this semi-final. I’ve lost two finals on penalties, and I’d like to play the next one.”

Lazio trained in front of their fans on Tuesday morning, but the majority of the Bianconcelesti supporters, including their ultras groups, have boycotted home games in recent months to protest against club President Claudio Lotito.

“It was a nice morning, demanding, because preparing for such a game would require a different kind of tranquillity,” Sarri noted.

“But we are happy with it, it was a morning full of families and kids, and when the kids are close to a football pitch, it’s always something important. Now, we’d like to see them at the stadium as we’ve had some difficult months.”