Juventus v Lazio – Preview, Predictions, And Best Bets

Juventus host Lazio at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday evening in Serie A. Both sides are in outstanding league form. The Old Lady have won five in a row without conceding a goal. Lazio have won seven of their last nine fixtures with eight clean sheets in that time. This fixture pits the fourth-placed hosts against their second-placed visitors.

Juventus Form

Juve had a very tough start to the season in Serie A with just three wins in their opening nine fixtures. In the UEFA Champions League, they lost five of their six group matches but still somehow finished in third place to drop into the Europa League.

Juve had a very tough start to the season in Serie A with just three wins in their opening nine fixtures. In the UEFA Champions League, they lost five of their six group matches but still somehow finished in third place to drop into the Europa League.

Juventus Team News

Max Allegri still has many injuries to contend with. In midfield, Weston McKennie and Paul Pogba are out injured but Leandro Paredes and Angel Di Maria are back to boost options. Bremer has returned to full fitness as a center-back so Federico Gatti is back amongst the subs again. Alex Sandro is suspended after being red-carded in midweek.

Moise Kean got the winner against Verona in the absence of Dusan Vlahovic. The latter remains a doubt so it’ll be either youngster Fabio Miretti or Kean alongside Arkadiusz Milik.

Juventus Motivation

Morale and confidence is high again and Juventus will go out to win this fixture and leapfrog Lazio in the table.

Max Allegri’s side doesn’t play an open game and will look to grind out a result in their 3-5-2 shape which becomes a 5-3-2 when defending.

Lazio Form

Maurizio Sarri’s side are working wonders in the league, especially with their incredibly solid defensive record. After winning 2-0 at Atalanta and beating Midtjylland 2-1 in the Europa League, Lazio were shocked by 3-1 at home Salernitana. They followed that up by losing 1-0 to Feyenoord, meaning they finished third in their Europa League group and dropped down in the UEFA Conference League.

They have since ground out two invaluable wins. A 1-0 win at Roma came with just 41% possession and five shots all game as Sarri changed his preferred style. Lazio beat Monza 1-0 at home in midweek, again having less than half the share of the ball in a pragmatic performance.

Lazio Team News

Key striker Ciro Immobile got four minutes from the bench in midweek after three matches out injured. He could again only be fit enough to feature as a substitute against Juventus. Winger Felipe Anderson has played centrally in the last two fixtures and could do that role once again.

Another attacking option in Matteo Zaccagni is doubtful. In midweek, key midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić was fit again to start after missing the Rome derby.

Lazio Motivation

Sarri’s side usually looks to dominate possession but some recent wins have been more about solid defensive work and getting the result.

This game could be the same. Lazio will play to win but won’t see a draw as being the end of the world. A clean sheet-first approach has worked in recent months and could again be how Lazio set up.

Key Stats

Juventus have won 5 Serie A matches in a row to zero

Juve has lost just 1 of their last 19 home Serie A matches

Lazio have kept 8 clean sheets in their last 9 matches (Serie A)

Lazio have lost 1 of their last 14 away matches in Serie A

Lazio have scored 22 goals in their last 9 away matches (Serie A)

Verdict

These sides have put aside their continental struggles to hit some excellent Serie A form. Juve rarely loses at home whilst Lazio are rock solid at the back. A low-scoring affair looks to be on the cards, especially with neither Vlahovic or Immobile expected to be fit to start.

Best Bet: Both Teams to Score – No at 1.95
Value Bet: Draw at 3.30
Multiplier Leg: Juventus win/draw double chance + under 3.5 goals at 1.71

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis