Lazio are a side in turmoil as they play host to a buoyant Reggina side in a crunch encounter at the Stadio Olimpico.

The Lazio fans are making their displeasure heard and heckled the side at Cagliari Airport after their latest afternoon of ignominy, which saw a 1-0 defeat against the rock-bottom Sardinians. Just as it seemed the Biancocelesti had turned things around with a confident win over Atalanta, they turned in the kind of flaccid performance that has blighted their season.

Coach Delio Rossi has admitted that the pressure is rising, as his side look complete strangers from the team that finished third last term. The capital club cannot afford anything less than a win here if they are to keep their notoriously fiery fans onside. One key to the Aquile’s woes has been ill discipline – they have seen seven red cards and 65 yellows this year. Added to a lengthy injury list, suspensions are proving costly and adding to the disjointed feel of the team.

Reggina are on a high after securing a heroic, albeit fortunate, 2-1 win over Juventus last Saturday.
However, veteran boss Renzo Ulivieri knows all too well that he must harness the momentum and not let his side rest on their laurels. The result may have ended a miserable run, but the Amaranto are still in penultimate place and could quickly be cut adrift.

The Calabrian fans would feel lost without their annual relegation battle, but it remains to be seen whether Ulivieri’s experience is a match for former Coach Walter Mazzarri’s nous. If they are to survive, Reggina must stop trying to pass the ball into the net. They have had the fewest shots on target in the top flight with just 83 – a total that amounts to fewer than three and a half per game.

Reggina had the better of Week 6’s meeting and were unlucky not to take all three points in a 1-1 draw. The Stadio Olimpico is far from a fortress for Lazio, who have been beaten there five times this season, but their visitors are yet to win away and have scored just seven times on their travels.

Rossi is without former Reggina man Fabio Firmani, Luciano Zauri and Massimo Mutarelli. Rolando Bianchi may get a chance to make his mark alongside Tommaso Rocchi.

Reggina have much bigger worries. Last weekend’s goal hero Nicola Amoruso is suspended, which allows Stephen Makinwa to lead the line against the side he left in January. Maurizio Lanzaro is also banned, so Bruno Cirillo is set to drop back to defence. Portuguese stopper Angelo Garcia, midfielder Simone Missiroli and striker Fabio Ceravolo are all injured.

Keep an eye on: Franco Brienza (Reggina) – The midfielder scored against Juventus and has been a driving force since arriving from Palermo in the January transfer window.

Last season: Lazio 0-0 Reggina

Form guide: Lazio (D W L W L) Reggina (L L L L W)

Lazio (probable): Ballotta; De Silvestri, Siviglia, Cribari, Kolarov; Mudingayi, Ledesma, Manfredini, Mauri; Bianchi, Rocchi

Reggina (probable): Campagnolo; Cirillo, Valdez, Aronica; Alvarez, Barreto, Cascione, Hallfredsson; Vigiani, Brienza, Makinwa

Palermo must exorcise the demons of inconsistency, but they meet an Empoli side on a roll in an intriguing Stadio Renzo Barbera battle.

Unlucky as Palermo were to lose 2-1 to Milan on Sunday evening, the fact remains that the Sicilians can’t string a run of good results together. Impatient President Maurizio Zamparini has watched with frustration as his side have dropped to the mid-table mediocrity of 10th place and Coach Francesco Guidolin must be feeling the pressure, given that his predecessor Stefano Colantuono was fired with the Aquile in sixth.

Guidolin faces the side he coached in 1991-92 with his main priority surely being to tighten the defence. Despite the presence of Azzurri men Cristian Zaccardo and Andrea Barzagli, Palermo have shipped 40 goals so far this season – a total only surpassed by bottom side Cagliari. The front line of Amauri and Fabrizio Miccoli may be fearsome, but there’s only so much they can do for a side conceding at this rate.

Empoli have managed three wins in a row after last weekend’s 2-0 triumph over Catania and equalled their Serie A record set in 2005-06. Wins over Napoli and Lazio will have left the Tuscans believing that they can conquer Palermo, but Alberto Malesani will be determined to prevent his men getting carried away.

An easy way to keep his team’s feet on the ground would be to show them some videos of their away days so far this term. The Azzurri have won twice on the road, but they haven’t shown their true ability and have only hit the net seven times away from the Stadio Castellani. With Azzurrini star Sebastian Giovinco missing they will need someone else to step up to the mark.

Empoli will also be boosted by the fact that they secured their first win of the season with a 3-1 over Palermo in Week 6 thanks to late strikes from Giovinco and former Palermo man Ighli Vannucchi.

Guidolin has to choose between Miccoli, who isn’t 100 per cent fit, or Uruguayan youngster Edison Cavani. Ex-Empoli man Ciro Capuano is injured, but Barzagli is set to continue his proud run as Serie A’s hardest working player having played more minutes than anyone else in the top flight this term.

Empoli are adapting to life without striking starlet Nicola Pozzi and will have to do without his suspended Azzurrini colleague Giovinco. Felice Piccolo is also banned and Georgian young gun Levan Mchedlidze is still injured.

Keep an eye on: Ighli Vannucchi (Empoli) – With Giovinco out it will be down to gifted passer Vannucchi to provide the flair – a role he revels in for the Tuscans.

Last season: Palermo 0-1 Empoli

Form guide: Palermo (L W L W L) Empoli (L L W W W)

Palermo (probable): Fontana; Zaccardo, Biava, Barzagli; Cassani, Guana, Migliaccio, Simplicio, Balzaretti; Miccoli, Amauri

Empoli (probable): Bassi; Raggi, Marzoratti, Pratali, Tosto; Buscè, Budel, Marchisio, Antonini; Vannucchi, Saudati

Unpredictable Udinese arrive at the Stadio Tardini on Wednesday night to take on a desperate Parma side fighting for their Serie A lives.

It promises to be some encounter if they relive their weekend exploits after both were involved in eight-goal thrillers. Parma collected a wild 4-4 draw at Torino, while the Bianconeri lost 5-3 at home to Genoa – the second time this term that they have conceded five goals at home.

Although the Gialloblu collected a point on Saturday evening, it would have been viewed like a defeat by fans. Having taken a 4-1 first half lead, the former Parmalat-backed outfit were looking good for a first League win since their 3-0 over Reggina back in Week 16. It wasn’t to be, though, as Toro hit back to secure an unlikely draw which increased the pressure on under-fire boss Mimmo Di Carlo.

To make matters worse for the former Vicenza midfielder, he’ll be without Andrea Gasbarroni in midweek. The winger netted twice in the Olimpico at the weekend, but also collected a yellow card which rules him out on Wednesday. On the positive side, Daniele Dessena is available again after his suspension but that may not be enough for a starting shirt.

Di Carlo is expected to revert to two strikers for this one. Cristiano Lucarelli and Bernardo Corradi, who both didn’t start in Week 24, are expected to lead the line. It’s unclear at this stage whether Giulio Falcone will be ready to start after coming away from the Turin trip with a small knock.

Things are undoubtedly uncomfortable for Di Carlo, but opposite number Pasquale Marino isn’t a happy man either. Hailed as a genius following Udinese’s marvellous start to the campaign, there may be no fairytale ending for the Bianconeri. Their latest loss was their third from their last four games and their Champions League dream seems to be quickly evaporating.

“Every time we are asked to take the step up in quality, we don’t deliver,” conceded Fabio Quagliarella after Marco Borriello thumped a hat-trick past them on Sunday. “We need to be more hungry,” added Marino. “Let’s just hope this defeat will teach us a lesson.”

The ex-Catania tactician has no suspensions to worry about, but injury will see him again robbed of Raffaele De Martino, Gyan Asamoah, Christian Obodo and Giandomenico Mesto. Cristian Zapata may return to the side after not making the Genoa tie, while Simone Pepe will probably replace Antonio Floro Flores in attack.

Keep an eye on: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) – He’s been the most in-form Udinese attacker recently and bagged a brace on Sunday against Genoa. He’ll now be hoping to turn his goals into points.

Last season: Parma 0-3 Udinese

Form guide: Parma (D L D D D) Udinese (D L L W L)

Parma (probable): Bucci; Zenoni, Rossi, Couto, Castellini; Reginaldo, Morrone, Cigarini, Pisanu; Corradi, Lucarelli

Udinese (probable): Handanovic; Zapata, Felipe, Lukovic; Ferronetti, D’Agostino, Inler, Dossena; Pepe, Quagliarella, Di Natale

Siena will have a golden opportunity to pull away from the relegation zone when they take on Cagliari this Wednesday – but they’ll have to be wary of a Sardinian side who look to be on the up despite their position at the bottom of the table.

Cagliari looked dead and buried a month ago. The appointment of Davide Ballardini, their third boss of the season, seemed pointless for a side low on confidence, quality and ability. But an unlikely win over Napoli in Week 20, when they scored twice late on to collect a 2-1 victory, breathed new life into their campaign.

An away draw with Juventus and Sunday’s 1-0 win over Lazio, despite being reduced to 10 men, has seen the Rossoblu move to within four points of safety. A win here and Serie B may not necessarily be the conclusion to their campaign. “We suffered against Lazio, but netted a very important result,” noted Ballardini. “The win was down to our desire to battle.”

The tactician will be without the suspended Michele Fini after he was shown red for a reckless challenge on Gaby Mudingayi. The good news is that Daniele Conti returns after his ban, while the Coach will have to decide whether to stick with Joaquin Larrivey in attack or reward Alessandro Matri for his winner at the weekend.

Siena go into this match still reeling from the two points dropped on Sunday, rather than the point they gained. Having gone 2-0 up at Atalanta, it looked like their pressing game which was so evident in the win against Roma would again deliver the goods. That didn’t happen, though, as the Bergamo boys fought back for a 2-2.

“There is a little regret, but it was a useful point in the end,” admitted boss Mario Beretta. “Now we need to keep picking up results though and it is going to be a battle until the very end.” Beretta’s side have only lost one in the last five, but they are finding it tough to pick up wins at the moment.

The tactician has concerns over the fitness of Valerio Bertotto and exciting wing-back Paolo De Ceglie. On the positive side, Houssine Kharja is available again after he served a 90-minute ban at the weekend.

Keep an eye on: Tomas Locatelli (Siena) – There really is no substitute for class. The one-time Italian international netted at the weekend and he’ll be looking to inspire again against a defence which has already conceded 41 times this term.

Last season: Siena 0-0 Cagliari

Form guide: Siena (L W L D D) Cagliari (W D D L W)

Siena (probable): Manninger; Rossettini, Portanova, Loria, Rossi; Vergassola, Codrea, Galloppa; Locatelli; Maccarone, Frick

Cagliari (probable): Storari; Pisano, Lopez, Bianco, Agostini; Cossu, Conti, Parola; Foggia, Jeda; Larrivey