Vladimir Petkovic is confident Lazio won’t just maintain their unbeaten Europa League run at Fenerbahce, but “we are here to dominate.”
Vladimir Petkovic is confident Lazio won’t just maintain their unbeaten Europa League run at Fenerbahce, but “we are here to dominate.”
The Biancocelesti are the only remaining side without defeat in the tournament and go into the quarter-final first leg on Thursday evening.
“They are a very valid opponent well known on the European stage and with their fans in this atmosphere they have a slight advantage,” the Coach said in a Press conference.
“We have to make the most of our physical and psychological characteristics to beat Fenerbahce. We are here to dominate our opponents.”
Petkovic warns there will be no squad rotation, even though Lazio face arch rivals Roma on Monday evening in Serie A.
“From Friday we will think about the Rome Derby, but not before. All the players in the squad can feature, then I must decide if they start or are on the bench.”
Lazio must play the second leg behind closed doors at the Stadio Olimpico, as they complete the two-match ban imposed by UEFA for persistent incidences of racist abuse from a small section of fans.
“Fenerbahce have two advantages: the crowd is their 12th man tomorrow and they are also more accustomed to playing without fans than we are.
“In any case, we fight against everything and everyone, so these issues should not distract us from our objective. We can and we want to qualify.
“The players know what happens here, the various rituals and the passionate atmosphere. I took them on years ago as Coach of Young Boys, but Fenerbahce have improved since then. We’ll try to put them under pressure.”
Abdoulay Konko and Bruno Pereirinha are both injured, while Stefano Mauri and Miroslav Klose are probably only fit for the bench.
“At right-back I tried out Alvaro Gonzalez, Senad Lulic, Marius Stankevicius and Edy Onazi, so we’ll see.”