Giampaolo ready for Lazio: “We can give them a game”

Marco Giampaolo knows Sampdoria are in for a tough afternoon against Lazio on Sunday but believes his side have what it takes to pull off a result.

“We’re going to be up against an excellent team and they’ve had a magnificent campaign,” the boss said in his pre-match press conference on Saturday.

“Lazio are one of the teams that have impressed me the most this season. They’re strong physically and technically and have some superb individuals, but we can go there and give them a game.”

Doria have not enjoyed victory at Lazio for 12 seasons and Giampaolo’s men were well beaten at the Olimpico last term, yet the boss insists none of that will have any bearing on tomorrow’s game.

“Past stats mean nothing and nor does last season’s result,” he stressed.

“We must keep trying to pick up points if we want to achieve our targets. We have five matches left to play and we just have to give it our best shot.

“We must look forward and think about what we can do in this final stretch – that’s the only thing that matters. You could beat a great team and then mess up in a match you thought was easy.

“The fact we’re up there challenging for the top spots is already an extraordinary achievement in itself.”

After playing Juventus and Bologna in the last week, Giampaolo acknowledged that he would be making changes to his starting line-up for Sunday’s match in the capital.

“We’ve had three games in a week and it will probably be hot tomorrow so it will be a tiring 90 minutes for both sides. I’ll definitely change a few things around and bring in some fresh legs. My task is to understand who’s freshest and put them in the team tomorrow.”