UEFA Europa League
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Played
February 23, 2012 8:05 PM GMT
Estadio Vicente Calderón — Madrid
Referee:‬ M. Atkinson‎
Attendance:‬ 30000‎
 

Atletico Madrid - Lazio Preview: Diego Simeone's men can seal a place in the last 16 after their convincing victory in Rome last week

Goal.com previews the action as the Italian side look to overturn a 3-1 deficit in the Spanish capital, although they will have their work cut out against an in-form Atleti

By Enis Koylu

More On :  Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Atletico Madrid vs Lazio
Reja & Hernanes - Lazio (Getty Images)
Getty Images

 PROBABLE LINEUPS

ATLETICO

Courtois
Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Filipe
Suarez, Gabi
Arda, Adrian, Koke
Falcao
LAZIO 

Marchetti
Zauri, Ledesma, Dias
Gonzales, Matuzalem, Candreva, Lulic
Hernanes
Kozak, Rozzi

Diego Simeone will be without the services of his Brazilian namesake, who has been ruled out for a month. However, the return of Arda Turan could prove timely to the Argentine, with the Turkish midfielder set to provide some creativity in the former Juventus man's absence.


Elsewhere, Atletico can name an unchanged team from the one that faced Sporting Gijon over weekend with Sergio Asenjo will miss the games for family reasons, and Antonio Lopez a prolonged absentee.

Lazio will be without a host of players for the trip to Madrid. Miroslav Klose is out with a back problem, while Tomasso Rocchi, Cristian Brocchi, Lorik Cana, Giuseppe Biava and Marius Stankevicius remain injured. The dearth of strikers could hand a start to 17-year-old Antonio Rozzi, who has made inroads into the first-team in recent weeks.


 DID YOU KNOW?
  • Atletico manager Diego Simeone represented the Italian side between 1999 and 2003.
  • The Spanish side have won their last five home matches in European competition; meanwhile Lazio have failed to win in their last three away games.
  • Arda Turan and Lorik Cana will be well-acquainted as were team-mates at Galatasaray last season.
  • Spain has not been a happy hunting ground for Lazio - they have won just once in the Iberian nation.
  • However, the Italians will have happy memories of facing a Spanish club - they beat Real Mallorca in the 1999 Uefa Cup final.
  • The Roman club have never won the competition in its current guise, but they did win the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999, following the victory up with Super Cup glory three months later.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Atletico Madrid 2-0 Lazio
    18.93 %
  • Atletico Madrid 0-3 Lazio
    14.97 %
  • Atletico Madrid 2-1 Lazio
    11.86 %
Head to Head
UEFA Europa League ‎(EL)‎ Feb 23, 2012 Atletico Madrid 1 - Lazio 0
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
  • Preview
UEFA Europa League ‎(EL)‎ Feb 16, 2012 Lazio 1 - Atletico Madrid 3
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
  • Preview
Club Friendlies ‎(FR)‎ Aug 4, 2007 Lazio 1 - Atletico Madrid 3
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
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Last Five Matches
Atletico Madrid
May 17, 2013Real Madrid CF 1 - Atletico Madrid 2ESPC
May 12, 2013Atletico Madrid 1 - FC Barcelona 2LIGA
May 8, 2013Celta 1 - Atletico Madrid 3LIGA
May 4, 2013Deportivo 0 - Atletico Madrid 0LIGA
Apr 27, 2013Atletico Madrid 1 - Real Madrid CF 2LIGA
Lazio
May 19, 2013Cagliari 1 - Lazio 0ITA1
May 12, 2013Lazio 2 - Sampdoria 0ITA1
May 8, 2013FC Internazionale 1 - Lazio 3ITA1
May 5, 2013Lazio 6 - Bologna 0ITA1
Apr 28, 2013Parma 0 - Lazio 0ITA1
Odds
Returns: Atl. Madrid £15.00 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Returns: Draw £110.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Lazio £610.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
13Thibaut CourtoisGoalkeeper
2Diego Godín LealDefender
15Álvaro DomínguezDefender
20JuanfranMidfielder
14L. PereaDefender
23MirandaDefender
8Toto SalvioMidfielder
12Paulo AssunçaoMidfielder
14GabiMidfielder
19KokeMidfielder
7AdriánStriker
25Sergio AsenjoGoalkeeper
6Filipe LuisDefender
-SilvioDefender
5TiagoMidfielder
11Arda TuranMidfielder
9Radamel FalcaoStriker
9PizziStriker
1Albano BizzarriGoalkeeper
3Andrè DiasDefender
21Modibo DiakiteDefender
78Luciano ZauriDefender
6Stefano MauriMidfielder
8HernanesMidfielder
-MatuzalemMidfielder
19Senad LulicMidfielder
24Cristian LedesmaMidfielder
87Antonio CandrevaMidfielder
18Libor KozákStriker
22Federico MarchettiGoalkeeper
20Giuseppe BiavaDefender
-Edoardo FagioliDefender
55Riccardo SerpieriDefender
15Alvaro GonzalezMidfielder
-Enrico ZampaMidfielder
25Antonio RozziStriker
Players to Watch
Radamel Falcao
Radamel Falcao
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 9
Games Goals YC RC
3 1 1 0
Radamel Falcao clearly has a love affair with the Europa League - he scored a stunning 17 goals as Porto won the trophy last year, including the winning goal in the final. With Diego Simeone having reinvigorated Atletico, the Spanish side will fancy their chances of winning back the trophy they won in 2010, and the 26-year-old will be key to their chances of doing so.
Antonio Rozzi
Antonio Rozzi
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 25
Games Goals YC RC
3 0 1 0
With legions of attacking talent missing through injury, opportunity knocks for Antonio Rozzi. At the tender age of 17, the Italian can make himself an instant hero for Lazio fans by firing them into the next round, and overturning the unlikeliest of deficits in Madrid.
Prediction
With the unrest surrounding Edy Reja's future, the string of missing players and the dominant nature of Atletico's victory last week, it's difficult to foresee a Lazio victory here. The Spaniards will be full of confidence following the result in Rome and I'd back them to ease to victory here and secure their place in the next round.
Editor's Prediction
Atl. Madrid 2
Lazio 0
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Libor Kozák Libor Kozák
Striker
Lazio 		10 0
Ó. Cardozo Ó. Cardozo
Striker
Benfica 		8 3
Rodrigo Palacio Rodrigo Palacio
Striker
Inter 		8 0
Eto'o Eto'o
Striker
Anji Makhachkal 		7 2
Edinson Cavani Edinson Cavani
Striker
Napoli 		7 2