BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness believes his team are equipped to slay one of the giants of European football when Lazio roll into Ewood for a prestigious friendly tonight.

Rovers plan to round off their pre-season preparations with a vigorous work-out against the former Serie A champions.

And, with the Ewood club set to embark on a UEFA Cup mission of their own next month, the game could act as a handy dress-rehearsal for potential challenges which lie ahead.

So far, rampant Rovers have clocked up an impressive total of 24 goals in their four pre-season games to date.

But tonight's contest is sure to provide them with their toughest test yet and Souness believes it's just the type of challenge his side needs to sharpen their focus before the serious stuff begins in earnest against Sunderland a week tomorrow.

"We are very excited about it," said Souness.

"I expect Lazio to be ahead of us in terms of fitness levels as they've had more time to prepare, plus they've had harder games than we've had.

"But I'd like to think we can give a good account of ourselves, especially at Ewood, because on our own pitch I think we are as good as anyone around."

Lazio will attempt to complete a hat-trick of English scalps this evening following earlier victories over Liverpool and Derby during their mini tour of the country.

But Souness is relishing the opportunity to see how some of his young guns cope against established internationals like Jaap Stam, Hernan Crespo and Diego Simeone.

And he has promised an all-out offensive of his own as he prepares to unveil his new-look strike-force of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke for the first time at Ewood.

"Lazio are a top team so it will be difficult for us but we'll go after them and I'd like to think they will go after us, so our supporters are in for an exciting evening."

Despite their illustrious history, Lazio have been dogged by financial troubles more recently as a result of heavy spending in the past.

They still owe Manchester United money on the £16.5million Jaap Stam deal from last summer.

And the financial restraints placed upon coach Roberto Mancini have prevented the club from being active in the transfer market during a deathly quiet close-season.

However, they can still boast a proud tradition and a multi-national squad packed with a host of star names.

The arrival of Sergio Cragnotti as president was the spark for huge levels of investment in the 90s as a number of top players, including Paul Gascoigne and Alen Boksic, arrived at the Olympic Stadium.

As a result, the club were rarely out of the top five in Serie A during the decade, finishing runners-up twice in 1995 and 1997.

By January 2000, they were able to celebrate their centenary with a team that was one of the strongest in their history.

Sven Goran Eriksson had arrived as manager, ironically after snubbing the chance to join Rovers, and he assembled an expensive squad with the pressure on to deliver.

They got their reward later that season when the club won an unprecedented league and cup double, finally clinching the Scudetto for only the second time on the final day of the season by one point from Juventus.

However, since that triumph the club have enjoyed mixed fortunes on and off the pitch.

Eriksson quit to take up his post as the new England manager and, after a string of poor results, the squad was overhauled under new boss Alberto Zacherroni but he failed to change the tide sufficiently to Cragnotti's liking.

Eventually, the multi-millionaire president lost patience and replaced Zacherroni with former Lazio hero Roberto Mancini in a bid to revisit the glory days. But the club's fragile financial state has frustrated his efforts to strengthen the team.

And things got so bad that the club were temporarily suspended from Serie A at one point earlier this summer until they provided certain assurances about their future.