By James Eve
ROME, Jan 11 - Juventus and Atalanta occupy
opposite ends of Serie A but league form will count for nothing
when the league leaders bid to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the
second leg of their Italian Cup third round tie on Thursday.
Eight points adrift of safety at the bottom of Serie A,
Atalanta punished the nine-times Cup winners for fielding a
second-string team by winning the first leg in November.
Juventus striker David Trezeguet is fit after a long injury
layoff and is set to play on Thursday. The French striker has
been out since undergoing surgery on his shoulder in October.
Juve are not the only big club that face making an early
exit from the competition.
Holders Lazio and city rivals AS Roma have excellent Cup
pedigrees having racked up 11 titles between them, but both need
to overturn 2-1 first-leg defeats to Cagliari and Siena
respectively.
Lazio, under new coach Giuseppe Papadopulo, at least go into
their tie in top form having defeated Roma and Fiorentina in
their last two games.
The recent arrival of striker Fabio Bazzani from Sampdoria
has increased Papadopulo's options in attack and Lazio will be
confident of turning the tie around in the Olympic Stadium.
Roma, too, will be confident of turning the tables on Siena
after defeating the Tuscan side 4-0 in their most recent meeting
in Serie A.
In other ties, Inter Milan hold a 3-1 advantage over Bologna
while AC Milan take a 2-1 lead into the return against Palermo
at the San Siro stadium. Milan defender Jaap Stam is expected to
play after recovering return from an ankle injury.