Marco Baroni Lazio (Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images)
Lazio coach Marco Baroni explains his team’s rotation against OGC Nice in the Europa League and says he is “anxious to see a strong response” from his players.
It kicks off at the Olympic Stadium at 5.45pm UK time (5.45pm GMT).
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this match, Elfsborg-Roma externals Fiorentina-The New Saints on the Liveblog.
The manager has started a squad rotation to keep his squad fresh following the 3-2 win over Torino in Serie A at the weekend, but insists this is far from a reserve line-up.
“We have Vecino, Marusic and Pellegrini on the pitch, all important players for Lazio. We can bring in some young players, but the team must maintain its identity and structure.” Baroni said this to Sky Sport Italia.
“This is a great test against a strong opponent, so I too am looking forward to seeing a strong response from those players. We also chose the ones who recovered better and have more energy, because today we will have to push hard.”
Baroni relaunches Lazio for the match against Nice
They got off to a perfect start to the Europa League with a 3-0 win over Dynamo Kiev, despite the sending off of Tijjani Noslin, who is suspended today.
Among the changes is the arrival of Christos Mandas as goalkeeper in place of Ivan Provedel, an unusual debut for the Greek goalkeeper.
“He is also working hard in training, our first choice is Ivan, but right now I need to use everyone and it is right that he is given a chance.”
Lazio have placed a lot of emphasis on attack so far this season, but Baroni is trying to make the team more solid in defense by adapting to his tactics.
“We definitely need to improve there and the team is finding its shape and balance more and more. We have to be aggressive, work when we don’t have ball possession and the team is metabolising these concepts more and more.”
