Former Dnipro-1 head coach Oleksandr Kucher told us what he expects from the Dynamo vs. Lazio Europa League match and explained what will help Kyiv defeat the Romans.
- Oleksandr, what do you expect from Dynamo and their match against Lazio in general?
- I think that Dynamo's game against Lazio will be interesting, of course, I want to see open football and a victory for Dynamo.
- This season, Kyiv have shown that they are able to crush their opponents in European competitions. But they lost to Salzburg, which was stronger than Dynamo's previous opponents. What will the game against Lazio be like, will there be a blowout in one direction or the other?
- It's hard to predict, because you need to watch the match first, and then talk about the defeat. But there will definitely not be a rout, because we understand that the Italians know how to play from the defense, close down somewhere, and play on the counterattack. So there will be no defeat here. We know that Dynamo also looks very good right now. They have fast wings up front, Guerrero has come in, Pikhalonok, Brazhko, Buyalsky, Shaparenko are playing well in the center. The rotation is extensive, you know, the team has two players for each position. Therefore, during the match, you can get stronger, change tactics, play two strikers. Shovkovskyi has many options for how to play this match.
- In their last match, Dynamo failed to break down Rukh's defense. What problems might Kyiv have in this match?
- Yes, they didn't score against Rukh, but I don't think Lazio will be such a closed team. In this match, Shovkovskyi's team will have more space. Thanks to what can Dynamo cling to a positive result? Their speed, there are individually strong players who can solve the episode themselves - Pikhalenok, Yarmolenko, Kabaev, Guerrero. These players can solve episodes on their own, and this is what they are valued for. This is a very big plus for Dynamo.
- Can Lazio's uncertainty in the league carry over to the European Cups or is it a completely different setup?
- There will be a different setup here, these are different tournaments, the formats of the European Cups have now changed, so everyone is interested in what it is. Lazio will definitely prepare more responsibly and take this tournament more seriously than the Italian championship. Of course, I'm not saying that they don't prepare well in the league, but there will be a certain attitude to give their best and not to feel sorry for themselves in such matches. But I predict a 2-0 victory for Dynamo.
Andriy Pavelko