Lazio vs Galatasaray

Stadio Olimpico is the venue as Lazio and Galatasaray battle it out for a top-place finish in UEFA Europa League Group E.

Since falling to a narrow 1-0 loss to Galatasaray in the reverse fixture on the opening matchday, Lazio have gone unbeaten in their subsequent four Europa League matches (W2, D2), securing qualification for the knock-outs with a game to spare. Notably, ‘I Biancocelesti’ have kept three clean sheets during that four-match run, which is a stark contrast to their lackluster defensive performances of late. Maurizio Sarri’s men have conceded at least once in four of their last five outings in all competitions, letting in an average of 2.2 goals per game. Lazio will have to better their reverse H2H result if they are to leapfrog Galatasaray to the top place in Group E, meaning they need a two-goal margin win here. However, they’ve won just three times in their last eight competitive games.

On the other hand, Galatasaray have alternated between victory and draw across their opening five Europa League matches (W3, D2) and are on the cusp of going unbeaten in a European group stage campaign for the first time this century. However, after going winless in their previous 12 European visits to Italian sides (D5, L7), the Turks will have to defy a psychological barrier at the Stadio Olimpico. Yet, they should not be underestimated here, having lost just one of their last eight fixtures in all competitions (W3, D4). What’s more, they’ve notably improved their away form of late, going unbeaten in their last four European travels (W2, D2) following a run of one win from 23 European road trips beforehand (D4, L18).