Lazio go into the international break on top of Serie A with the fewest goals conceded in the league, nine in 11 games. They'll come out of it without two of the players who built that record. Left back Nuno Tavares and center back Josip Sutalo both hurt their hamstrings in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Napoli, and the early estimate from Sky Sport Italia is about 20 days out for each, pending the rest of the clinical tests.
Two changes in one half in Naples
Sutalo pulled up in the first half at the Maradona and was replaced right away by Diogo Leite. Tavares had been a doubt all week after missing Wednesday's training with muscle fatigue, and Gennaro Gattuso had said he wouldn't play him if there was any risk. He started anyway, got through the first half and was replaced at the break by Alfonso Pedraza. Three minutes into the second half, Pedraza deflected a cross into his own net to cancel out Davide Frattesi's opener.
Both players were called up by their national teams and both stayed at Formello instead. Calciomercato reports they'll miss the next three league games: Lecce at home on Nov. 21, Torino away on Nov. 28 and Atalanta on Dec. 6. The target is the Rome derby on Dec. 13, though even that is considered difficult.
Who fills the gaps
Tavares has been one of Lazio's main attacking outlets from left back, with one goal and four assists in 11 Serie A games, and he has a long history of muscle injuries. Pedraza, signed from Villarreal in the summer, is the likely replacement after 322 minutes across the league and Coppa Italia. Sutalo has made eight league appearances since arriving on loan from Ajax on Aug. 22, and Leite and Doekhi are competing for his spot.
There's a small cushion at the other end. Albert Gudmundsson is close to returning to group training after the shoulder injury he picked up on international duty in late September, and Mattia Zaccagni, with two goals and five assists, is aiming for the Torino trip.
The margin is what makes this matter. Lazio have 29 points from nine wins and two draws, one ahead of Inter and two ahead of Roma, who have conceded only 10. Gattuso said after Naples that "we don't really belong up there." Over the next three games, with a back line missing two starters, he'll find out how much of that nine-goal record belonged to the system and how much to Tavares and Sutalo.
