Lazio vs Juventus

Stadio Olimpico forms the backdrop for a blockbuster Serie A showdown between Lazio and Juventus.

Goals on either side of halftime fired Lazio to a 2-0 win at Serie A debutants Monza, taking their unbeaten league run to six games without conceding (W5, D1) and cementing them in second! With fifth-placed Roma five points adrift, ‘I Biancocelesti’ seem to be galloping toward their first top-four finish since 2019/20, but there’s no room for complacency. Maurizio Sarri’s men are about to meet a Juventus side they’ve defeated only once in their last 11 top-flight H2Hs (D2, L8). A horrendous 3-0 defeat in the reverse fixture, compounded by a gut-wrenching 1-0 Coppa Italia loss in February, might put Lazio at a psychological disadvantage. But after winning their last two home league matches by an identical 1-0 scoreline, they seem well set to turn the corner in this fixture.

Meanwhile, visiting Juventus squeezed past relegation-battling Hellas Verona 1-0 last weekend to move within six points of fourth-placed Inter Milan despite a 15-point deduction. But what goes around, comes around, as Massimiliano Allegri’s side paid for their defensive-minded football in midweek Coppa Italia action, with Inter eking out a late 1-1 draw in Turin. Back to Serie A, where they’ve won their last three games, ‘I Bianconeri’ will be looking to put chaotic scenes from that cup clash against Inter behind them and tighten the noose on the top four. Despite managing three wins in their last four away league outings (L1), they shouldn’t let that tuck them into a false sense of security. Indeed, before a 1-0 win at Inter on their last Serie A travel, Juventus had lost three straight away league encounters against current top-six sides.