Football Previews
Lazio midfielder Eddy Onazi admits he and his team-mates feel a sense of urgency to win at home against Chievo after falling at Juventus last time out. The Biancoceleste are in second place but level on 58 points with city rivals Roma, who are third and hold the last Champions League qualifying spot. Lazio will be keen to increase that advantage as well as make up for last Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Serie A leaders Juve with a win this weekend. Last weekend’s setback halted Lazio’s eight-match winning run, was their first defeat since February 9 and their ninth overall. “We made two mistakes against Juve and we paid the price,” Onazi said to the Italian press. “We will learn from those errors. “Sunday’s game is a must win for us. “We know we have seven finals left and if we want to play in next season’s Champions League we will have to have in every game the right approach.” The Rome outfit have won their last four league games at the Stadio Olimpico. With midfielders Luca Biglia and Danilo Cataldi unavailable, with the former out injured and the latter suspended, Lazio coach Stefano Pioli will be forced to make changes to his starting XI. Onazi is expected to partner Cristian Ledesma at the heart of Lazio’s midfield. The good news for Pioli is that defenders Diego Novaretti and Luis Cavanda return from suspension. Chievo travel to Rome looking to take another step towards defending their Serie A status. The Flying Donkeys, coached by Rolando Maran, held Udinese to a 1-1 draw last time out. Chievo have won three of their last five games and are 13th in the standings, 13 points clear of the drop zone. “We are not mathematically safe,” Chievo striker Alberto Paloschi said. “We know we are very close to our aim and we want to end the season in the best possible way.” Chievo will be without midfielder Valter Birsa and striker Riccardo Meggiorini, both serving a one-match ban this weekend. Sergio Pellissier, who has found the back of the net in Chievo’s last two games, will partner Paloschi in attack.
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Team
MP
W
D
L
F
A
G
P
1
SSC Napoli
12
8
2
2
19
9
+10
26
2
Atalanta
12
8
1
3
31
15
+16
25
3
Fiorentina
12
7
4
1
25
10
+15
25
4
Inter Milan
12
7
4
1
26
14
+12
25
5
Lazio
12
8
1
3
25
14
+11
25
6
Juventus
12
6
6
0
21
7
+14
24
7
AC Milan
11
5
3
3
20
14
+6
18
8
Bologna
11
4
6
1
15
13
+2
18
9
Udinese
12
5
1
6
15
18
-3
16
10
Empoli
12
3
6
3
9
10
-1
15
11
Torino
12
4
2
6
15
18
-3
14
12
Roma
12
3
4
5
14
17
-3
13
13
Parma
12
2
6
4
16
18
-2
12
14
Verona
12
4
0
8
17
27
-10
12
15
Como
12
2
4
6
13
23
-10
10
16
Cagliari
12
2
4
6
12
22
-10
10
17
Genoa
12
2
4
6
9
22
-13
10
18
Lecce
12
2
3
7
5
21
-16
9
19
Monza
12
1
5
6
10
15
-5
8
20
Venezia
12
2
2
8
11
21
-10
8
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