Vladimir Petkovic is confident Lazio” data-scaytid=”2″>Lazio will have the upper hand against Fiorentina” data-scaytid=”3″>Fiorentina on Sunday despite "alarm bells" over conceding late goals.

This will be a battle of the two season revelations so far, as the Biancocelesti are in third place and the Viola sixth.

Vladimir Petkovic is confident Lazio will have the upper hand against Fiorentina on Sunday despite "alarm bells" over conceding late goals.

This will be a battle of the two season revelations so far, as the Biancocelesti are in third place and the Viola sixth.

“It was a test of our maturity against Milan and games like this are certainly needed to help us become a great team,” said the Coach.

“So far we have seen Lazio growing constantly, but at the same time we know there are many areas to be improved on. This is important, as we must never rest on our laurels. We always have to want more.”

That is something his team has been accused of in recent weeks, as they risked throwing away a 3-0 lead over Milan to end 3-2 and were pegged back 1-1 by Panathinaikos on Thursday.

“In a way one has to control the match, but always when showing dominance over the opponent. I think in those moments we must be even more clinical and not get too deep. Attack is the best form of defence and we have to behave like that for 90 minutes.

“Seeing the statistics and the goals we keep conceding in the final minutes could set off alarm bells, but I don’t think that’s necessary. Against Genoa one of our players had cramp, while Milan’s first goal was offside. What we do need is to stay concentrated and avoid serious individual errors.”

Federico Marchetti and Ederson are still sidelined, while Stefano Mauri and Miroslav Klose are injury doubts for the Sunday afternoon clash.

“This will be one of the most interesting games of the weekend. There are two teams on form and Fiorentina have been moulded in the image of their Coach, as Vincenzo Montella added his contribution to a quality squad.

“They are very aggressive on home turf and eager to prove themselves. It certainly won’t be a simple task and Fiorentina have the added advantage of not playing in Europe, but we’re going to Florence to get points,” continued Petkovic.

“The Viola play differently depending on whether it is Luca Toni or Adem Ljajic alongside Stevan Jovetic. We must be wary of the strikers, but also the whole team and how they’ll change approach.

“Michael Ciani has been a little hesitant recently, but he is very strong physically. It’ll be easier for him to face Toni rather than someone like Jovetic or Ljajic.”

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