Verdict: Home win
Best odds: 10/11
Bookmaker: Betfair
Lazio and Fiorentina will both be hoping to get back to winning ways when they take each other on at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday, after disappointing draws at the weekend. It will be the 16th round of the 2020-21 Serie A roller coaster.
Lazio
On Sunday, Simone Inzaghi’s team couldn’t do more than share the spoils with relegation threatened Genoa, as their early lead, courtesy of a 15th-minute penalty from Ciro Immobile, got cancelled out in the second half by Mattia Destro. In the round before that one, Lazio were defeated by league leaders AC Milan.
Lazio are currently on a run of form which cannot be described as good. From their last six outings in all competitions, they won only one, drew three times and lost twice.
At the moment, they are in ninth place with 22 points, six off Napoli in fourth (though Napoli have a game in hand), with Juventus, Sassuolo, Atalanta and Hellas Verona all squeezed in between.
Having finished 2019-20 in fourth place, Lazio made it into the Champions League this term. They were drawn in Group F with Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge and Zenit St. Petersburg, and they ended the stage second to the Bundesliga team. They now face Bayern Munich in the round of 16.
Team News
Inzaghi won’t be able to call upon forward Joaquin Correa (calf injury), midfielder Marco Parollo (ankle) and wing-back Mohamed Fares (hip). Former Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva is suspended, having picked up his fifth booking of the season in Genoa, with Gonzalo Escalante likely to replace him in the starting XI.
Fiorentina
The Viola were extremely impressive when they hammered defending champions Juventus in Turin in the round before last, but it seemed to have gotten their heads too hot as they failed to score against Bologna on Sunday.
At the moment, Fiorentina are in 14th place with 15 points after 15 games played. Interestingly enough, their last-six record is better than that of Lazio, if only slightly: one win, four draws and one defeat.
The Bologna game at the Artemio Franchi was Fiorentina’s sixth league draw of the season; Juventus and Parma have the same tally, and no team in the Italian top flight has more. On the other hand, their surprise victory over Juventus was their third, and only the bottom five sides have less than that.
Team News
Coach Cesare Prandelli reportedly doesn’t have any injury concerns ahead of the trip to the capital. With left-back Cristiano Biraghi back from his suspension and likely to slot back into the starting XI, Prandelli isn’t expected to make any other changes.
Conclusion
With neither side on top of their game at the moment, it should be an interesting contest. Given the way the table looks and what we’ve seen in Serie A this season, as well as the fact that the game is being played in Rome, Lazio are the obvious favourites to win. Alternatively, you could back Immobile to score again, with the experienced striker on 10 goals in 13 Serie A appearances at the moment.
Verdict: Home win
Best odds: 10/11
Bookmaker: Betfair
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