Juventus vs Lazio

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Preview

Under-fire Lazio coach Mimmo Caso takes his team to Turin on Sunday knowing he can ill-afford to taste defeat against Serie A leaders Juventus.

Caso, who succeeded Roberto Mancini in the summer, has seen his side slip to 13th in the table and they suffered a further blow in midweek when they were eliminated from the UEFA Cup after only managing a 2-2 draw at Greek side Egaleo.

That was a severe blow for club president Claudio Lotito, who had high hopes of his team going far in Europe.

``I didn't see the team of gladiators that I expected considering the importance of this game,'' he said.

``At this point not only the coach is under question but also the players. ``I don't exclude sending away some of my players especially those that claim they are not fit to play.''

Thursday's result has heaped more pressure on Caso's men after last weekend's 3-2 league loss against Cagliari came hot on the heels of their Coppa Italia defeat to the same opponents.

The Lazio fans are becoming increasingly impatient with the inexperienced boss, who many consider not up to the job.

Lazio passed up a golden opportunity to climb to fourth position in the standings last weekend but now travel to Turin hoping to climb out of the bottom half.

Rivals Juventus will be keen to avoid a repeat of last weekend's performance against Internazionale in which they gave away two late goals - and two points.

The 2-2 draw helped AC Milan reduce the gap at the top to just four points. ``The draw feels more like a defeat,'' admitted defender Fabio Cannavaro.

``We have made mistakes and we have relaxed and allowed Inter to get back in the game. ``We cannot afford to make these kind of errors in the future.''

With the Rossoneri facing a seemingly easier battle against demoralised Parmathis weekend, the Bianconeri will look to hold on to the league leadership ahead of the clash with the Rossoneri at the Delle Alpi in a fortnight.

Lazio will have to put their worries behind them if they expect to come out victorious against the best attack and defence in Italy's top flight.

Juve have netted 25 goals and conceded just six in 13 games. The Bianconeri welcome back Alessandro Del Piero, who missed last weekend's game through injury.

Del Piero will play alongside Juve's top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack. Fabio Capello will have to do without playmaker Pavel Nedved, who is sidelined with flu and will be replaced by Olivier Kapo.

Lazio will be without first choice goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi, who was sent off against Cagliari. Matteo Sereni will deputise.

On a positive note for Caso, defender Sebastiano Siviglia, midfielder Giuliano Giannichedda and striker Tomasso Rocchi all return after missing last week's match against Cagliari.

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Head to Head

1999-2000

28-Nov Lazio 0-0 Juventus
01-Apr Juventus 0-1 Lazio

2000-2001

11-Nov Juventus 1-1 Lazio
18-Mar Lazio 4-1 Juventus

2001-2002

24-Nov Lazio 1-0 Juventus
30-Mar Juventus 1-1 Lazio

2002-2003

15-Dec Juventus 1-2 Lazio
03-May Lazio 0-0 Juventus

2003-2004

06-Dec Lazio 2-0 Juventus
10-Apr Juventus 1-0 Lazio

Patrik SG

Can try buy Lazio to win
Sgpools offering $7.20 for Lazio
Hahaha..

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Juventus - Lazio

On paper the Bianconeri should easily dispose of the Biancocelesti, however in recent years Lazio have been Juves nightmare team. This year, Casos side will be without Fiore, the main Old Lady punisher, but will instead have Rocchi, who scored a hat-trick against Buffon last year while playing for Empoli. Still, Juve should be able to win comfortably.

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Juventus to ignore floored opponents

MILAN, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Juventus coach Fabio Capello says his team will no longer kick the ball out of play when an opponent is lying on the floor.

Capello said opposition teams are now taking advantage of the widespread practice.

"From Sunday, with our game against Lazio, Juve's players will no longer kick the ball out when an opponent is on the ground. It is over the top now " said the Juve coach.

"We have moved from the professional foul to the 'fainting foul'," he added.

Capello said Juventus had discussed their new policy at all levels within the club and with Lazio.

"The decision doesn't come from one specific episode but from a general tendency," he said.

While the rules of the game state that the game should only stop if the referee whistles it has been increasingly common informal practice for teams to react to seeing an opponent on the ground by kicking the ball into touch.

Capello was given backing for his new policy by several other Serie A coaches.

"It is becoming a tactical move, a strategy," said Bologna's Carlo Mazzone, the most experienced coach in Serie A.

"When there is a tackle, whoever loses out goes to ground and then the ball is kicked out. In other leagues, such as England and Spain that doesn't happen," said Mazzone.

"Capello is right. It should be up to the referee to stop play," said Udinese coach Luciano Spalletti.

Roma coach Luigi Del Neri said: "I am for stopping play when there is a clash of heads on a challenge for a header and a player goes to ground but not when there is simply a tackle," he said.

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Nedved In Doubt For Lazio Game

The Czech Republic player might miss the game against his former side.
Pavel Nedved is in doubt for Sundays match between Juventus and Lazio due to a light injury which had him train on his own for the past days.

If the Czech midfielder will not recover in time, Olivera will substitute him after recovering from his own injury this week. Del Piero will also be back for the Bianconeri to guide the Old Ladys front line alongside Ibrahimovic.