It's hard to be positve about Wednesdays match after being dissapointed for 3 straight weeks. I think a victory on Sunday would be more celebrated than a victory tommorow. Milan gave us a drubbing earlier in the season tarnishing our great start and bringing us to reality of what happens when this team is faced against big opponents. With still much to prove this season it will be a bitter sweet victory to win. I'm sure milan will be fielding their second string team which is still better than most teams in serie a. Considering this team doesn't have the choice of players to field to confident teams .. it will be interesting to see if Rossi will rest his star players on wednesday and how he will weigh the games in terms of importance.

It looks as though Lazio is yet again with Matuzalem or as I like to refer to him as the new Meghni with his reputation and being absent almost half the season. Lazio will also be without Siviglia, Firmani and Del Nero .. but really who cares ?

Hopefully Rossi will treat this game as a chance to try a fresh strategy and shuffle the players around into possibly new positions and hopefully learned that some players just don't have it  and need to sit out for the younger players who take advantage of a chance to make a name.

Milan isn't exactly at a high after two dismal weekends themselves which has kept them not far from us in the table. This weekend they were thrashed by Palermo and only got a goal through a penalty which seems to be a pattern in most of their games .. I actually think they've gotten almost a penalty every other game... two of which I've noticed to be controversial. Unlike us .. milan have a wide variety of great midfielders to choose from .. hopefully they will be having a bad like our midfielders have had almost all season.

I think most of you can sense my bitterness from yesterdays loss and two weeks prior but my heart is still with the team and hopefully they can put a smile on all our faces and show us that they are more than the average team.

FORZA LAZIO!   00 00 00

01/12/2008 21:30
Mauri Looking Towards Coppa Italia Match With Milan
Lazio winger Stefano Mauri looks ahead to his side's match with Milan in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday.  The two sides meet on Wednesday night at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, in the last 16 of the domestic national cup competition.

The encounter is a one off affair, with the winner passing through to the quarter-finals, knocking out the loser.

Milan come into the match from a bad result in Serie A where the Rossoneri lost 3-1 away to Palermo, but behind that loss their were 16 games where the Milan giants went unbeaten in all competitions.

Lazio on the other hand have struggled recently, despite a fantastic start to the season, where they were top of the league at one stage.

They have found it difficult to get good results lately, and their midfielder is feeling the pressure after a down turn in fortunes.

Mauri said, “This is a match that perhaps does not arrive at the best moment, seeing as we are struggling to get points, but maybe this will be a turning point and we will go through to the next round.”

Three bad match, we have to win anymore. We score only 1 goal for last three matches and I agree Zarate and Pandev should make explosion. Our team needs confidence and to provide this winning is needed. Winning against milan espacially away will provide us with confidence. I watched them playing against Palermo and milan is not unbeaten team and not play very well. This makes me hopeful.

Forza Lazio

Who knows what psychological state these players are in. If they win too much they might go into games over-confident and if they lose too much they may lack confidence or you can look at it as if they lose too much they have something to prove and a hunger to win. I hope they are the latter and are now motivated to turn things around. I hate when I hear articles about Mauri .. because it makes me feel like he's included in the next game when I think he should just be benched.

Milan duo to miss Lazio date     
Tuesday 2 December, 2008
Alexandre Pato and Andrea Pirlo are set to miss out on Milan's Coppa Italia clash with Lazio on Wednesday evening.

The Rossoneri are looking to return to winning ways after a disappointing 3-1 defeat against Palermo on Sunday evening.

But Carlo Ancelotti's men should expect fierce resistance from Lazio, who are also trying to erase memories of a poor weekend, which saw them beaten at Atalanta.

Ancelotti, who saw a second-string side crash out to Catania last year, is expected to name a strong side for the Cup encounter, but he will have to do without Pirlo and Pato.

Pirlo, who has only just recovered from a long lay-off, is feeling sore after his efforts at the weekend and won't be risked.

Brazilian striking starlet Pato picked up a series of knocks against Palermo and had to come off after just 29 minutes.

Although the ex-Internacional man's injuries aren't serious, he will also be allowed to rest.
   

I agree, where we finish season is not known that's why winning coppa may be the only way for Europe.

I think the coppa is a long shot. One bad game and they're out .. the league is more forgiving. I agree with //LAZIO .. after 3 horrible weekends we're still in a uefa spot due to the misfortunes of other teams. The Coppa depens solely on our success which we've had none recently. I honestly don't feel a victory tommorow or saturday .. but thats just me.

Tare: Lazio Can Come Out Of This Crisis
The Biancocelesti have won just one point in their last three league games and will be hoping to resurge against another troubled side as they face the Rossoneri tomorrow in the last sixteen stage of the Coppa Italia.
Lazio director of sports, Igli Tare, believes that his team can return to winning ways thanks to the quality of the players they possess.

They will have an opportunity to do so tomorrow as they clash against Milan at San Siro in the Coppa Italia.

"We have the qualities to come out of this crisis," declared the Lazio director to Radio Radio.

"To do so we must remain calm, only this way we can return to do well  in tomorrow’s game and resume that path we had started at the beginning of the season.

"The leader of this team is the coach. The problem is that when things go well, no one says anything, but when they go bad, they always search for something that is not going well and whatever is said is interpreted in the wrong way.

"The only thing that matters is the pitch and when we shall return to be that team of three weeks ago, we shall return to make the difference again."

After spending three seasons as a player for Lazio, playing 51 times and scoring four goals, Tare became a director of the club in the summer after hanging up his boots.