Maurizio Sarri warns the fiery Coppa Italia derby with Roma may well have ‘sapped’ his Lazio side, making today’s meeting with Lecce even more dangerous.
It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 11.30 GMT.
The Aquile are coming off three consecutive Serie A victories, but also played midweek in the Coppa Italia with a fiery Derby della Capitale against Roma.
That ended 1-0 and had three red cards, so there is the very real fear the experience sapped physical and mental energy from the Lazio squad.
“The more we talk about it, the more it saps us. We have to isolate ourselves from everyone and everything,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
When Lazio played Lecce in August, they fumbled a lead to lose 2-1 and have managed just one point from their last four games against the Salentini.
“Lecce also are a team who have always caused us problems, so overall it is a difficult match. It might be the characteristics of their style, they often have these spells of 10-15 minutes where they can get past their man easily and that causes us troubles.”
Taty Castellanos is out injured for a few weeks, while Ciro Immobile is not 100 per cent fit either, so Felipe Anderson is used as a False 9 this afternoon.
“In the last month and a half, Luis Alberto and Immobile have barely trained. Immobile only resumed training with us yesterday, so he can have 20 minutes in his legs, not more,” warned Sarri.
Alessio Romagnoli is also rested ahead of the Supercoppa Italiana, which has a new Final Four format in Riyadh.
Lazio will play Inter in one semi-final on Friday, while Napoli–Fiorentina is the other semi-final on Thursday.
The winners go head-to-head for the trophy next Monday evening.
Everyone's using #EAFC24's Evo @F_Andersoon but we get to see him in the flesh week in, week out 🔥#LazioLecce pic.twitter.com/MMbIh6u4Ac
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) January 14, 2024