Juventus to Rest Key Players Against Lazio
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Agence France-Presse
TURIN, Italy (April 14, 1999 2:01 p.m. EDT http://www.sportserver.com) - Juventus coach Carlo Ancelotti will rest some of his key players against Italian league leaders Lazio this weekend to make sure they are ready for next week's European Cup semifinal with Manchester United.
With Juventus out of the title race, Ancelotti admitted he would not send out his strongest team against Lazio on Saturday.
Among those likely to rest are France's Zinedine Zidane, still nursing a knee injury, and Uruguayan Paolo Montero, who had to be substituted in the second half of the 1-1 draw in the first leg at Old Trafford due to injury.
"We want to cut a good figure, but obviously I won't play all my starters since, if I'm going to risk somebody, it will be on Wednesday against Manchester," Ancelotti told the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.
Ancelotti said Saturday's clash with the Serie A leaders would provide a perfect warm-up for the second leg in Italy.
"Taking on Lazio will be very stimulating -- mentally speaking, it will be easier to prepare for the Manchester clash after Lazio rather than Empoli, as we did before the first leg," Ancelotti said.
Bottom club Empoli dealt Juventus a shock 1-0 defeat in their last league match before the first leg.
Juventus said on Wednesday that next week's clash was sold out. The attendance should be around 64,500.
The club added in a statement that electronic scanners would be set up at the gates to detect any counterfeit tickets.
