Fiorentina vs Lazio

Fiorentina and Lazio are set to trade tackles at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in a high-stakes Serie A showdown.

Despite commencing 2024 among the Serie A top four, Fiorentina’s woeful run of only one victory across their last seven league games (D2, L4) sees them start this encounter two points adrift of seventh-placed Lazio. Manager Vincenzo Italiano can draw confidence from Fiorentina’s most recent performance at home, as they thumped Frosinone 5-1 in their highest Serie A win since April 2023. However, La Viola’s long-standing struggles against current top-seven sides paint a bleak picture, with Fiorentina emerging victorious from just two of their nine such contests in 2023/24 (D1, L6). That run includes a last-minute 1-0 loss to Lazio in the reverse fixture, which extended their abysmal winless H2H streak to five matches (D1, L4).

Meanwhile, visiting Lazio weathered the storm in Turin over midweek, toppling Torino 2-0 despite facing 13 first-half shots in over a year to climb within a single-point distance of the Serie A top six at the start of this round. But like their hosts, ‘I Bianconcelesti’ have failed to impress against fellow European hopefuls this season, racking up just two wins in nine match-ups versus current top-eight teams (D1, L6). As aforementioned, one of those wins came against Fiorentina, and it’s worth noting they’ve won their last two Serie A H2Hs in Tuscany by 3+ goals ‘to nil,’ highlighting the potential for another crunch victory. Further confidence stems from winning back-to-back away league games in the build-up to this trip, with both triumphs seeing them score precisely two second-half goals.