Lazio President Claudio Lotito trusts they can have their say against Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana. ‘I hope we see the right determination and ferocity.’
It kicks off at the Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh at 19.00 GMT.
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the LIVEBLOG.
The winners will be decided after 90 minutes or on a penalty shoot-out, as extra time is not part of the competition, and then go through to face Napoli in the new Final Four format final on Monday.
There was a blow in the warm-up, as Mattia Zaccagni pulled out and was replaced by Pedro.
“I am not accustomed to making predictions, especially before matches,” Lotito told Mediaset.
“There are a series of factors to be taken into account, the team is a little patched up, but if we have the same spirit, determination and humility seen in recent fixtures, I think we can give the fans some satisfaction.
“I hope the team has the right spirit, especially as this is an important fixture to internationalise the brand.”
When these teams met in Serie A, Inter emerged 2-0 winners.
“That was a very balanced fixture and heading towards a draw until a poor back-pass was intercepted and gifted Inter the goal. I hope the team can be more concentrated this time and expresses the maximum potential.”
Lotito has always been a very hands-on President of the football club and has taken even more of a crucial role in transfer negotiations since the departure of director of sport Igli Tare.
With Maurizio Sarri at the helm, he perhaps does not need to be quite so ‘present’ on the training ground.
“Lazio is run like a family and I am the head of the family. There is respect for the roles and, like in all families, we can make suggestions, then the coach ultimately makes his own decisions.
“I follow everything that happens in an objective fashion and can expose certain problems. I only ever intervene when there were splits within the group or the failure to respect their roles.
“I continue to tell the players that we win all together and we lose all together. I hope we see the same determination and ferocity that we saw in the last five games.”
#SupercoppaItaliana | @OfficialSSLazio, le parole del presidente #Lotito prima della semifinale contro l'@Inter: "Non sono abituato a fare previsioni, la squadra è un po' incerottata ma se avrà spirito di gruppo potrà dare soddisfazioni ai tifosi" https://t.co/visGTdnNRA
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) January 19, 2024