Lazio v Juventus – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Lazio host Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi-finals on Tuesday. Juve won 2-0 in the first leg three weeks ago. The Biancocelesti last lifted this trophy in 2019 whilst the Old Lady won it in 2021. The winner of this tie will face either Atalanta or Fiorentina in the final in May.

Lazio Form

Lazio’s form has been poor for months. Their last 17 matches in all competitions have seen nine losses. Four successive losses saw Maurizio Sarri resign as coach with a 2-1 loss at Udinese proving the break point. With Giovanni Martusciello in charge, Lazion won 3-0 at Frosinone with 3.21 xG produced.

Igor Tudor took over as coach after that. His first match brought a 1-0 home win over Juventus thanks to a 93rd-minute goal. They’ve since lost 2-0 at Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg, and 1-0 at Roma in the derby. The last two matches have brought a 4-1 home win over Salernitana and a 1-0 victory at Genoa.

Lazio Team News

Ivan Provedel is injured in goal so Christos Mandas will deputise once again. Winger Mattia Zaccagni was injured in the first leg but should return here. Top striker Ciro Immobile and centre-back Alessio Romagnoli remain in doubt.

Immobile should be back from a knee injury and Romagnoli is set to shake off a calf complaint. Left-back Luca Pellegrini has an ankle problem and striker Taty Castellanos is suffering from muscle fatigue. Matteo Guendouzi is ruled out in central midfield.

Lazio Motivation

Lazio have no choice but to attack with a 2-0 deficit from the first leg. They need an early goal in this one.

This competition has a Europa League place for the winner. Lazio are currently outside the European places in Serie A, so plenty is riding on the Coppa Italia.

Juventus Form

Juventus only lost one of their first 21 league matches. Since late January, their form has nosedived, and their last 13 matches have only yielded three wins in all competitions. A terrible run of just six points from eight Serie A matches saw four losses and one win. They lost 1-0 at Lazio in the league.

That defeat was followed by a 2-0 home win in the Coppa Italia against the same opponents. Since the first leg, they’ve beaten Fiorentina 1-0 at home and drawn twice, 0-0 at Torino and 2-2 at Cagliari. They trailed 2-0 in that match and only put up 0.66 xG from 74% possession.

Juventus Team News

Juve are without two midfielders Nicolo Fagioli and Paul Pogba due to bans. Moise Kean is set to miss out with a knee injury in attack.

Young midfielder Miretti is set to shake off a knock to feature in this match. Young Turkish midfielder Kenan Yildiz is competing with on-loan Carlos Alcaraz for one place in the engine room.

Juventus Motivation

Juve holds a 2-0 lead from the first leg and any result here that gets them into the final would be good.

They would take a draw for sure and may play defensively from the start to avoid defeat.

Key Stats

Lazio have lost their last 3 of their last 5 home matches (1 loss in 16 at home before that)

Lazio have lost 9 of their last 17 matches

Lazio have scored 1 or fewer goals in 10 of their last 13 matches

Juventus are winless in 6 away matches (LDLLDD)

Juventus have kept 4 clean sheets in their last 6 fixtures

Juventus have lost their last 2 away matches vs Lazio

Verdict

This match is hard to call because Lazio are in poor form and not scoring freely. Juventus are in slightly improved form but tend to struggle on their travels.

Best Bet: Lazio win/draw double chance + Under 3.5 goals at 1.86
Value Bet: Lazio win at 2.70

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