Stefano Pioli told Lazio to forget the Champions League and focus on their Europa debut at Dnipro.
It kicks off on Thursday at 20.05 UK time (19.05 GMT) and they share the group with Saint-Etienne and Rosenborg.
“We are facing a strong and important opponent who combines intensity with technical ability,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
Stefano Pioli told Lazio to forget the Champions League and focus on their Europa debut at Dnipro.
It kicks off on Thursday at 20.05 UK time (19.05 GMT) and they share the group with Saint-Etienne and Rosenborg.
“We are facing a strong and important opponent who combines intensity with technical ability,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
“They were the Finalists last season and have many Brazilians, who raise the tempo of the team, plus tall figures that make them strong on set plays. For us it is fundamental to start the group with a positive result.”
The Aquile were originally set to be in the Champions League, but lost the play-off 3-1 on aggregate to Bayer Leverkusen and have struggled for confidence ever since.
“We have still achieved the objective we set ourselves last season, which was to play in Europe. We lost out on the dream, but the Europa League is important too. We have a tough group and want to start well.
“We want to prove that we can be competitive on all fronts and try to go as far as possible. Dnipro are strong, Rosenborg are top of their League and Saint-Etienne are doing very well in Ligue 1. We must match our opponents in terms of determination as well as quality.”
Felipe Anderson has been deeply disappointing so far this season and was dropped for the weekend’s 2-0 Serie A victory over Chievo. His agent complained he was not happy at being left out, so is there an Anderson Problem?
“I see Felipe very calm and motivated to find his best form. Everyone is working hard to earn a place. We are going to play every three days, so we need everyone.
“The same goes for players like Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ricardo Kishna: everyone has to prove they deserve this chance to play.”
Pioli confirmed Federico Marchetti will start in goal tomorrow, as he is just coming back from cracked ribs and needs playing time to regain his form.