Simone Inzaghi trusts Felipe Caicedo will fill in admirably for Ciro Immobile against Atalanta, but Lazio “must put all the controversy behind us.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“We needed a good game on Thursday, as I’d asked the lads for us to have the right attitude against Cittadella,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
Simone Inzaghi trusts Felipe Caicedo will fill in admirably for Ciro Immobile against Atalanta, but Lazio “must put all the controversy behind us.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“We needed a good game on Thursday, as I’d asked the lads for us to have the right attitude against Cittadella,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
That 4-1 Coppa Italia result helped cancel out some of the bitterness from their controversial 3-1 home loss to Torino, decided in part by an Immobile red card.
Due to that incident, a supposed headbutt on Nicolas Burdisso spotted via VAR, their top scorer will be suspended against Atalanta.
“We must do well to leave all of that behind us. I already publicly thanked the fans, who came here to the training ground on Thursday and showed their support. They were fundamental.
“Tomorrow will be tough, as we’re forced to do without a very important player, but we hope there is more attention paid after everything that happened. It was clear to everyone.
“We should’ve had more points in the table, they were taken away from us, and what happened must be used to make us a stronger team. We’ve done great things and are just a little behind the top four, for reasons we all know.
“I hope that our protest can help all the clubs and referees to pay greater attention, because I don’t want any colleague to go through what we did. This cannot happen again.
“We are playing good football on our travels, as we try to maintain the same attitude and system, relying on our own characteristics.”
With Luis Nani injured and Immobile suspended, Felipe Caicedo is expected to start in attack.
“I have great faith in Caicedo and if he didn’t have Immobile and Luis Alberto in front, he’d have played more often. He is humble and always delivered when called upon.
“I am happy that Felipe Anderson is back and he’s doing better than I expected after four months out. He’ll become a very important weapon for Lazio.
“Atalanta are doing well, as they initially dropped a few points because of the Europa League commitments, but I respect Coach Gian Piero Gasperini and he’s great to talk to about football. It’ll be a very physical game and many big sides have struggled in Bergamo.
“I have already warned my lads: we need a great Lazio tomorrow.”