Lazio coach Stefano Pioli is adamant that his side must pay respect to Sparta Prague after being drawn with the Czech side for the Europa League round of 16.
The Biancocelesti will travel to Prague for the first leg on March 10 before the return fixture at the Stadio Olimpico on March 17.
“All the teams are of a certain standard at this stage in this competition, there are no weak teams,” said Pioli to Lazio Style Radio.
“We are certainly stronger but Sparta Prague are having an excellent European campaign, they don’t concede many and they are unbeaten in Europe.
“We can make it to the next round by playing with conviction.”
The Aquile boss also identified specific threats in the Sparta squad.
“We should keep an eye on [David] Lafata but they also have a lot of Under-21 internationals and some of them played in the Under-21 European Championship last summer,” Pioli went on.
“I repeat: We are talking about opposition of a certain standard and there aren’t any weak teams or players left, only players we have to think about.
“We know that we can do well in this competition.
“It’s a great competition with a lot of historic sides, we must now turn our attention to our opponents and study them well.”
