Baroni wants strong Lazio start against Conte’s changed Napoli | OneFootball

Marco Baroni warns Lazio they need to start strong and have ‘total concentration on every ball’ against Napoli, ready to face his former teammate and colleague Antonio Conte.

It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 17.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game, Atalanta-Cagliari and Milan-Verona on the Liveblog.

The Biancocelesti have a remarkably good recent record against Antonio Conte’s side, beating them twice in the space of a few days back in December 2024.

That was a 3-1 Coppa Italia result here, followed by a 1-0 Serie A victory at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

“It is a difficult match and we must congratulate Napoli for being deservedly top of the table,” Baroni told DAZN.

“We must reduce our errors to a minimum, as they have so many different ways of attacking and we understand the difficulties of this test. We need these challenges to raise our level.”

Lazio have got off to poor starts in recent matches and then poured forward after the break, so has Baroni asked his men to have the right attitude from the beginning this time?

“Absolutely, this is what I have been trying to shake off the team, because we need our football to have a high tempo and when we don’t do that, we will struggle. Napoli do not let you get away with mistakes, so we’ve got to do what we always do, but with absolute concentration on every ball.”

Baroni and Conte know each other well

ROME, ITALY – NOVEMBER 24: Marco Baroni, Head Coach of Lazio, greets his player Mattia Zaccagni after the Serie A match between SS Lazio and Bologna at Stadio Olimpico on November 24, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Baroni and Conte go back a very long way, as they were even teammates together and then reunited as colleagues in Turin.

“Antonio is a friend, because we played together, I know the man first and foremost, then we also trained at Juventus when I was with the youth team and he was with the senior squad, so got to know him as a coach too.”

Injuries ruled out Elseid Hysaj, Patric and Matias Vecino, with Boulaye Dia not fully fit either after a knock to the ankle, but they are well-rested after automatically reaching the Europa League Round of 16 and therefore skipping the play-offs.

Napoli are missing David Neres, Leonardo Spinazzola and Mathias Olivera, so have switched from the 4-3-3 formation to a 3-5-2. How will Lazio adjust to deal with that?

“I spoke to my men, we need above all sacrifice with the wide men covering those spaces. What we usually do, we need to intensify even more with humility, hard work and total concentration on every ball,” concluded Baroni.