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Belief powers confident Dinamo

Claudiu Niculescu said FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti "can't wait for kick off" as they aim to reach the UEFA Champions League at the expense of Italy's S.S. Lazio.

Dinamo will be hoping to have more to celebrate tomorrow night
Dinamo will be hoping to have more to celebrate tomorrow night ©Getty Images

FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti captain Claudiu Niculescu said his side "can't wait for kick off" as they aim to press home their advantage against S.S. Lazio and qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time.

'Surprise'
Dinamo held Lazio to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg of their third qualifying round tie two weeks ago and Niculescu is confident they will finish the job in the Romanian capital. "We will have to be very careful at the back and not allow them any space on the counterattack," he said. "This doesn't mean we'll play for a goalless draw because that would be suicide."

'High pressure'
With the 48,000-capacity National-Lia Manoliu stadium sold out, goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont believes Lazio could be in for a difficult night. "I'm used to high-pressure matches and I think the pressure is more on Lazio than us," he said. "The score doesn't matter – all that matters is that we qualify. I hope the fans will be a twelfth player for Dinamo."

Injury fears
Coach Mircea Rednic was in Rome to watch Lazio's 2-2 draw with Torino FC on Saturday and, with a host of injuries to contend with, the Biancocelesti's attacking trident of Tommaso Rocchi, Goran Pandev and Simone Del Nero gave him plenty to ponder. Dinamo were given permission to postpone their weekend fixture against FC Farul Constanta to give an ailing squad time to rest.

Late tests
Ianis Zicu, Cosmin Moti, Flavius Stoican and Adrian Scarlatache are all out while Fabrice Fernandes is excluded for disciplinary reasons. Lucian Goian is suspended after being sent off in the first leg and Rednic's biggest problem is in central defence where Stefan Radu is the only available centre-back. He hopes to have Valentin Nastase back after a thigh problem while Andrei Margaritescu, Daniel Oprita, Florin Bratu and Cristian Pulhac all face late fitness tests.

Emilson example

'Difficult'

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