“Bouncebackability”, a term that’s probably eluded Lazio manager Edy Reja and his squad til now but one of vital importance ahead of tomorrow’s game with Cesena.

Coined by anvil-headed Crystal Palace manager Iain Dowie, it’s literally the ability to ‘bounce-back’ after defeat, and Lazio must recover following Sunday’s damaging 0-2 loss to city rivals Roma.

Lazio finished the game with nine men after left-back Stefan Radu was sent off for head-butting Fabio Simplicio, then captian Cristian Ledesma saw red for arguing with referee Tagliavento. A cloud continues to follow Radu after receiving a three match ban; the Romanian defender is being investigated for gesturing at the Roma fans following his dismissal. There are more headaches in defence for Reja with Swiss right-back Stephen Lichsteiner suspended following a fourth yellow card, plus a number of injuries which could encourage a confident Cesena side unbeaten in four.

After consecutive wins against Chievo and Sampdoria, last weekend I Cavallucci produced a thrilling two goal come-back against struggling Juventus to snatch a point and will fancy the same at the stadio Olimpico. The Seahorses have scored five goals in the last two away games and are desperate to move clear of Parma and Sampdoria who play Sunday.

The scourge of Sampdoria, Emanuele Giaccherini has taken abuse on an international scale this week for his unbelievable miss against the Turin giants but is unavailable through suspension. It’s unclear if right-back Davide Santon, who arrived on loan in January from Inter, will play after struggling in training this week.

Midfielder Marco Parolo has grabbed headlines this week after his man of the match performance against Juve. The 25-year old has scored in each of his last games, and he sank I Biancocelesti at the Dino Manuzzi back in November; Lazio’s only consecutive defeats all season.  Ominously, in the preceding match Lazio lost 2-0 to Roma just as they did last weekend.

Champions League football is the motivation and if they are to stop history repeating, Lazio must take all three points and keep the pressure on high-flying northerners Udinese.