Stefano Pioli wants Lazio to bring their Europa League form to Atalanta and belittles racist chanting from “a minority.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“It is an important test, although there’s no point denying the importance of the game we have coming up next Thursday,” said the Coach in a Press conference.
Stefano Pioli wants Lazio to bring their Europa League form to Atalanta and belittles racist chanting from “a minority.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“It is an important test, although there’s no point denying the importance of the game we have coming up next Thursday,” said the Coach in a Press conference.
The Aquile drew 1-1 away to Sparta Prague and have the upper hand going into the second leg in the Round of 16.
“At the start of the Europa League there were 102 teams, now we have the chance of remaining in the final eight. Qualification could also spark good things for our future.
“We have 10 rounds left in Serie A to improve our position. I will rotate the squad, but only so I can field the best available line-up against Atalanta.
“It was heavy going in Prague and we had several injuries that we need to wait on for results, specifically Abdoulay Konko, Stefan Radu, Dusan Basta and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
“Danilo Cataldi could play tomorrow. He is very eager to prove himself. I took him off against Torino because I considered it the right thing for the team. He mustn’t get downhearted by that.”
There was an ugly incident in the Europa League draw with Sparta Prague, as play was halted for a few moments due to racist chanting aimed at Costa. UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings and could force Lazio to play behind closed doors.
“I tried to let the referee understand in my broken English that I didn’t hear any racist chants. I did hear chants insulting Italians, those were pretty clear, but I am not trying to justify anything.
“I just believe it is easier to punish the few transgressors than it is an entire set of fans. These situations should be avoided and are bad for sport, but it’s still only a minority doing it.
"This team is inconsistent, the results show that, so we have to try and salvage what we can from this campaign."