Serie A, LAZIO-FIORENTINA, Saturday, 27-02-10

so muslera is suspended and albano is injured???

when did Sergio score 7 goals?

anyways. we can take Viola! more concentration at the back, some hard work in the mid line and this is it! Just shut down Jovetic and Vargas. FORZA LAZIO!

Roman_Eagle wrote:

when did Sergio score 7 goals?

anyways. we can take Viola! more concentration at the back, some hard work in the mid line and this is it! Just shut down Jovetic and Vargas. FORZA LAZIO!

He scored the other goals while he was at Genoa.

We showed that we're a match for Viola back in the Coppa game, only need to get the defense sorted out. And another difference from the coppa game is they'll be without the key figure of that match. Yes we can take them, but it will not be easy at all. With some luck they will be thinking more about Bayern than us.

danielganx wrote:

so muslera is suspended ?

sadly ..YES ...i think we're gonna put our faith in berni

Sile wrote:

Roman_Eagle wrote:

when did Sergio score 7 goals?

anyways. we can take Viola! more concentration at the back, some hard work in the mid line and this is it! Just shut down Jovetic and Vargas. FORZA LAZIO!

He scored the other goals while he was at Genoa.

We showed that we're a match for Viola back in the Coppa game, only need to get the defense sorted out. And another difference from the coppa game is they'll be without the key figure of that match. Yes we can take them, but it will not be easy at all. With some luck they will be thinking more about Bayern than us.

ohhh they have a CL game that is winable and they can progress...nice for us...

If I were Reja, this is what I'd do for this one. Very simple, pick the following:

Berni
Radu (if fit, not sure what his status is)
Stendardo
Diakite'/Siviglia
Kolarov
Mauri/Matuzalem
Ledesma
Brocchi
Lichtsteiner
Zarate
Rocchi

Put all the guys that fired us to Coppa glory in the starting eleven, tell them they are all playing for 90 minutes and say they're playing for their futures.

These guys dealt with the pressure last season, doing something drastic is necessary and we can freshen things up with the new boys against Samp. They need something more to kick their behinds.

I'd put Floc in Rocchi's place...Rocchi is not just up to it this season....

Roman_Eagle wrote:

I'd put Floc in Rocchi's place...Rocchi is not just up to it this season....

It's not true IMO...

yadiyauri wrote:

danielganx wrote:

so muslera is suspended ?

sadly ..YES ...i think we're gonna put our faith in berni

oh man we have to stick with berni he rarely got playing time in last 2/3 years... oh god i miss ballotta .. hahaha

with no Mutu and Vargas(big injury) i think we have big chance for 3points.

Roman_Eagle wrote:

when did Sergio score 7 goals?

anyways. we can take Viola! more concentration at the back, some hard work in the mid line and this is it! Just shut down Jovetic and Vargas. FORZA LAZIO!

my thought also... at this rate, soon our top scorer will be kolarov!
i hope matu play instead of mauri, this guy seems always losing his muscles & joints in every golden oportunity

litch on the bench please!!1

Not quite sure what to expect since Reja is still new, but I hope the players will regain their confidence after the tough road loss @ Palermo. The Viola are a good team, but this seems like an ideal weekend to take them on - especially since they play Milan this Weds. There's no reason why we shouldn't be get some points out of this match. The keeper situation is a bit dire, but honestly, it starts with our defense. If our defense struggles, it's going to be a long day...so, hopefully, Reja can field a well balanced team. I have faith.

@uragano: why do viola play milan this weds?

Fiorentina - Milan and Udinese - Cagliari was postponed in December because there was too much snow. These games are tomorrow.

blue-white wrote:

Fiorentina - Milan and Udinese - Cagliari was postponed in December because there was too much snow. These games are tomorrow.

nice :) viola play tomorrow and saturday with us and next week with bayern :) think our match is the one they wouldn't care about that much :)

Exactly, Roman. So, we need to really take advantage of this. As I stated before...there really isn't a more ideal situation. 3 matches in a one week stand starting Weds. Let's take the 3.

yeah, and they are in a poor run of form. We must take the advantage

4-3-1-2 has been tried in training with Stendardo and Biava (although Radu is now fit and should be in ahead of him) at CB, Brocchi, Ledesma and Matuzalem in midfield with Mauri, yes Mauri, as trequartista (here we go again..). There is a possibility that in the case of defending the great Mauri could drop out wide left to make more of a narrow 4-4-2. Floccari should be fit but Zarate and Cruz played in traning.

What on earth Mauri will do as treq is anyones guess, surely Matuzalem is better there than him and then have Hitzlsperger in midfield? Seems that we have found a Reja favourite and we'll just have to continue seeing him as our captain/multi-positional star/dynamic playmaker etc etc....

There isn't really any other options with Foggia injured. Matuzalem is bad as trequartista. I really think Mauri is the best choice.

I agree that Matuzalem hasn't been great when played there and to be honest, the formation doesn't suit any of our players currently. Mauri can not play this position effectively anymore in my opinion and the lack of alternatives means I don't think we should be trying the formation. Matuzalem was played there at the start of the season so would be a better choice than Mauri but really I think we don't help ourselves by playing that way.
I'd be inclined to try 4-4-2 but with Kolarov ahead of Radu on the left and Lichti ahead of Diakite on the right. I know this means our most consistent CB is not playing there but maybe it is a risk worth taking if a new formation is required to get the best out of everyone else.
I dunno, lets see what Reja decides, hopefully whatever he does will work out well...

wait don't viola play on the 9th or 10th of march ? if it's like that they have a whole week after us to get ready for bayern... never the less we can kick them so hard...

We don't have a natural right-winger or trequartista and that hinders us even more when players like Foggia and Meghni are out injured.

Matuzalem can play as trequartista; he is a very well-rounded centre-mid but his game centres around linking up the play and taking opportunities that come to him. He is one of our most improtant players but he needs to be built into the side.

Honestly, the formation that suits us best is probably 4-3-3. Kolarov and Lichtsteiner are full backs, not wingers and then you have your choice of defenders; Radu is certainly suited to left-centre back and Diakite' to right but then you lack experience. If you play Stendardo in a backline of four, you lose certain elements of his game. Biava is a decent defender for anywhere in the backline, I prefer him on the right, same with Siviglia and Dias.

In other words, we can make a back four work, easily but it involves having Radu fit and finding the right partner for him and personally, Stendardo is my preference but in a back four, we lose some of his ability. So, for me, that means we need to take a risk with Diakite' or hope Dias adjusts to life in Italy pronto because Biava and Siviglia are not starters in my opinion.

Then in midfield, I reckon it has to be a choice between Matuzalem and Hitzlsperger unless the former plays as trequartista. People hate Mauri but he is the most natural left-sided centre we have, he has intelligence to find himself in good positions and really, those chances last week that he missed were more than missable. Too much negative bias towards the guy.

The only problem with a 4-3-3 is that it involves playing Rocchi/cruz up the centre and flanking them with Floccari and Zarate. Tommaso hasn't linked well with those guys thus far and for that reason, I'd opt for Cruz. Thought he was decent last weekend and looked much fitter.

So, I guess if everything was ideal I would want this team:

Lazio (4-3-3): Muslera, Kolarov, Radu, Dias, Lichtsteiner, Mauri, Ledesma, Matuzalem, Zarate, Cruz, Floccari.

But as we all know, people will take great offence to that line-up so what is Reja to do?

Nando is suspended Caxi :P

Berni in goal. Think Reja will use Sten - Radu in the middle and Licht - Kola as full-bacs. Midline Ledesma - matu center and Mauri Brocchi as wingers. Floc - Zarate attackers :)

Roman_Eagle wrote:

Nando is suspended Caxi :P

Berni in goal. Think Reja will use Sten - Radu in the middle and Licht - Kola as full-bacs. Midline Ledesma - matu center and Mauri Brocchi as wingers. Floc - Zarate attackers :)

Ha, I forgot that, but thank goodness I covered my backside by saying it was the "ideal" line-up.

Brocchi is actually key for us now. But he suffices for away games, he's getting on in years and we don't need to be too defensive when we really need wins. Mauri and Matuzalem do a lot of defensive dirty work too.