Five Key Battles in Lazio vs Atalanta: Can Isaksen Torment Ahanor Again? | OneFootball

Lazio face Atalanta on Wednesday evening in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg at an almost deserted Stadio Olimpico, with five duels that could decide the contest.

According to The Laziali, after sliding to 11th in Serie A, Lazio view the cup as their route into Europe, having eliminated last season’s finalists AC Milan and Bologna.

Mario Gila vs Nikola Krstovic: Gila sustained a slight knock in the last meeting and should return, though his sharpness is unclear. Krstovic suffered facial cuts winning the penalty that booked La Dea’s last 16 place, yet both are battle ready.

Nuno Tavares vs Davide Zappacosta: Maurizio Sarri stressed his full-backs must contain Atalanta’s wing-backs, a detail that could disrupt Raffaele Palladino’s plan. With Luca Pellegrini off form and Tavares lively from the bench, the Portuguese may start against the savvy Zappacosta.

Danilo Cataldi vs Lazar Samardzic: A destroyer against a creator between the lines. Cataldi must close the pockets to limit Samardzic, a confident dribbler with long range shooting.

Gustav Isaksen vs Honest Ahanor: In February, Isaksen troubled Ahanor, drawing an early booking before Palladino replaced the teenager with Sead Kolasinac on 30 minutes. Ahanor will seek redemption, and Isaksen could again unlock the Orobici defence.

Mattia Zaccagni vs Giorgio Scalvini: Zaccagni has often been Lazio’s cup talisman, and he will be desperate to rise again. Scalvini, a highly rated young defender, still has defects that the captain might exploit.

Source: The Laziali