Juventus are the team to beat, says Petkovic

Jan 22, 2013 12:20:00 PM

The Lazio coach has nothing but respect for the reigning Italian champions, but believes his side can cause them problems in the Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday

Vladimir Petkovic believes that Juventus are the team to beat in the Coppa Italia and Serie A ahead of Tuesday's cup encounter, but has insisted that Lazio will do their utmost to make life difficult for the Bianconeri.

The Stadio Olimpico side have closed the gap on the Serie A leaders to five points following a string of good results in the past few months, and Petkovic has stressed that they want to keep up their good form in the remainder of the season.

"Juventus are the team to beat, the strongest team in the league," Petkovic stated at a press conference.

"But in the last 12 games, we’ve got the most points, we are doing well and we want to do even better."

The 49-year-old then went on to discuss Tuesday's semi-final and made it clear that he expects an even contest.

"Tuesday's encounter and the one in Rome will see a great 180 minutes of football. We have to avoid any lapse in concentration which could cost us dearly."

The first leg in Turin is scheduled to kick off at 20:45CET.

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