Lazio v Juventus – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Lazio host Juventus in Serie A on Sunday afternoon. The Rome club have been in solid form of late and should be able to stand up to Juventus whoa re far from their best under new manager Andre Pirlo.

Lazio Form

Lazio are unbeaten in their last five matches despite fighting injuries and Covid-19. They have won two straight home matches, 3-1 against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and 2-1 against Bologna in Serie A. Simone Inzaghi’s side drew 1-1 at Club Brugge before a thrilling 4-3 win at Torino. Down 3-2 in added time, Ciro Immobile and Felipe Caicedo both scored in an improbable win. Lazio’s last match was a 1-1 draw at Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League. Felipe Caicedo came off the bench to equalise.

Lazio Team News

Goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha could return to the starting side but centre-back Stefan Radu is injured. Winger Manuel Lazzari and attacking midfielder Luis Alberto are doubtful after testing positive for Covid-19.

Lazio Motivation

Despite being hit hard by injuries and illness, Lazio have shown great character in adversity to go five matches unbeaten. With Juventus nowhere near their best, they’ll back themselves to get a win at home. Three points will also seem them jump above their opponent son the Serie A log. So there is a lot at stake for Simone Inzaghi and his men.

Juventus Form

Juventus went undefeated in their opening six matches this season. The Old Lady were awarded a 3-0 win after Napoli failed to travel following a coronavirus outbreak. They won 2-0 at Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League with Alvaro Morata scoring both goals. A 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona as followed by a 2-0 home defeat to Barcelona, Morata with three goals all ruled offside.

Morata made amends in a 4-1 win at Spezia on Sunday, scoring first with Ronaldo bagging a brace off the bench either side of an Adrien Rabiot goal. Juventus returned to the Champions League with a 4-1 win at Ferencvaros. Alvaro Morata scored the opening two goals in Hungary, Paulo Dybala adding a third off the bench before a late own goal.

Juventus Team News

Dutch centre-back Matthijs de Ligt is close to a return and Merih Demiral is available after suspension in the Champions League. Left-back Alex Sandro is still sidelined. Paulo Dybala could start ahead of new signing Federico Chiesa. Midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur and Weston McKennie are in line to replace Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey in the middle of the park.

Juventus Motivation

After losing 2-0 to Barcelona, Juventus hit back with two 4-1 wins. However, Lazio will provide the sternest opposition for the Serie A champions. With Ronaldo back on the pitch, Juventus do seem a more confident unit against a team that have beaten them twice in the last three head to heads. This will be a statement game for manager Andrea Pirlo, if they lose, more questions will surface over the former Juve player.

Key Stats

Lazio have seen BTTS in their last 5 matches (all competitions).

Lazio have won their last 2 home matches (all competitions).

Lazio have seen BTTS in their last 4 matches against Juventus (all competitions).

Juventus have won by 3 goals in their last 2 away matches (all competitions).

Juventus have seen BTTS in 7 of their last 8 away matches (Serie A).

Juventus have conceded 2+ goals in 5 of their last 7 away matches (Serie A).

Prediction

This is a tough one to call considering Juventus are not in prime form. Lazio will definitely give them a proper test and I expect both defences to concede.