Juve braced for early coppa exit

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 tomorrow.

Eight points adrift of safety at the bottom of Serie A, Atalanta punished the nine-times Coppa Italia 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 tomorrow.

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 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 hold a 3-1 advantage over Bologna while 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.

Coppa Italia

Playing Today
Lazio vs Cagliari (1-2) 3 p.m.
Sampdoria vs Torino (2-0) 8.30 p.m.
Bologna vs Inter (1-3) 5.30 p.m.
Parma vs Fiorentina (0-2) 3 p.m.
Milan vs Palermo (2-1) 9 p.m.

Playing Tomorrow
Juventus vs Atalanta (0-2) 9 p.m.
Siena vs Roma (2-1) 5.30 p.m.
Udinese vs Lecce (5-4) 3 p.m.

(in brackets results of first legs)