Lazio’s offensive options are limited for their Coppa Italia semi-final clash against Atalanta on Wednesday, as strikers Tijjani Noslin, Daniel Maldini, and Boulaye Dia are not at full fitness. Head coach Maurizio Sarri admitted, “It’s not easy to pick a line-up in these conditions.”
Ahead of the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals, Sarri spoke at a press conference on Tuesday, acknowledging the challenges posed by player availability.
Atalanta vs. Lazio: Sarri’s Pre-Match Press Conference
Lazio will also be without Ivan Provedel, Nicolò Rovella, and Samuel Gigot. However, Adam Marusic has returned to group training.
“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 stated, emphasizing that one game does not define the entire season. He also noted similarities between Atalanta and Napoli but highlighted the differences in their individual players.
Providing an update on his squad, Sarri explained the status of his forwards:
- Noslin has a minor knock, and his availability will be assessed before the match.
- Maldini is clinically recovered, but his chronic tendinopathy continues to cause inflammation, making his match fitness uncertain. Despite training only once in the last 20 days, he is available to play.
- Dia is feeling better, and Sarri indicated that starting him would be ideal to avoid wasting substitution slots if he cannot play the full 90 minutes. However, he expressed the difficulty of selecting the lineup given these limitations.
Regarding Marusic, Sarri mentioned that he participated in a significant portion of the team’s training. A final decision on his participation will be made after the next training session, as this was his first time training with the team after a couple of weeks on the sidelines.
Sarri also confirmed that Rovella has received medical clearance to resume contact with his operated shoulder and will continue separate training for another week before rejoining the group.
Commenting on his team’s performance, Sarri noted that while Basic struggled in Florence, he showed improvement against Napoli. He expressed his desire to reach the final, having lost two previous finals on penalties.
Despite a boycott by some ultras groups protesting against club President Claudio Lotito, Lazio trained in front of their fans on Tuesday. Sarri described the morning as “nice and demanding,” appreciating the presence of families and children, and expressed a desire to see them more frequently at the stadium after difficult months.
