Lazio has moved up the standings and into the top three in Serie A as a result of five victories out of their last six matches. They will want to continue their strong play on Sunday when Salernitana travels to play at Stadio Olimpico.
After their victory against Spezia in the previous week, the Biancocelesti are in a good position to advance to the knockout rounds of the Europa League. Meanwhile, their opponents now hold a position in the standings that places them in the middle of the table.
Our Match Preview: Lazio vs Salernitana
Since drawing at home with Udinese two weeks ago, Lazio has rapidly regained their remarkable form of the previous month. In the last few days, Maurizio Sarri’s side has ruined Atalanta’s undefeated record and won a critical European match.
Lazio leapfrogged La Dea into third place with goals from Mattia Zaccagni and Felipe Anderson in Bergamo.
The Romans have won five of their previous six league matches without surrendering a goal. After Thursday’s meeting at Stadio Olimpico, they are undefeated in eight games across all competitions, scoring 18 goals.
Lazio, formerly hampered by defensive frailties under Sarri and predecessor Simone Inzaghi, currently has the greatest shutout run in Europe’s top five leagues. They’re one game away from matching Sven-Goran Eriksson’s 1998 record of seven straight wins.
During that span, the Biancocelesti have faced only 12 attempts on target, matching the club’s second-best Serie A start after 11 games.
Since May, only Napoli has lost fewer games than Chelsea: 9 victories, 5 draws, and 1 loss in 15 league games implies a Scudetto contender.
Lazio faces a final-day showdown with Feyenoord in Rotterdam next week after Pedro and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic secured a 2-1 victory over Midtjylland on Thursday – and a tiny slice of vengeance for being thrashed 5-1 in Denmark.
Level with Feyenoord on eight points, three ahead of the other two clubs in Group F, second place means a fixture against a Champions League relegation team, while third means a Europa League playoff.
This weekend’s form favors the hosts, but precedence is against Salernitana. Campania has lost all three Serie A road games against Lazio, allowing at least three goals each time.
Ciro Immobile, Pedro, and Luis Alberto scored to overcome the struggling visitors 3-0 in Rome in January. Salernitana, with former Lazio winger Antonio Candreva, comes to the city with two victories in three matches.
Pasquale Mazzocchi scored the winner for the Granata against Spezia on the day Franck Ribery announced his retirement.
Only three of Salernitana’s 13 points have come away from home this season, and they’ve lost their past two without scoring. Davide Nicola’s squad aims for mid-table stability this season and must improve on Sunday.
Our Team News: Lazio vs Salernitana
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, a midfielder for Lazio, has scored five goals and assisted on seven more in all competitions this season after scoring in midweek. Only Kevin De Bruyne has been more directly involved in more goals this season among Europe’s top five leagues.
His contributions have helped make up for the absence of captain and leading scorer Ciro Immobile, who is likely to miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury before Serie A suspends for the World Cup.
Mattia Zaccagni, Felipe Anderson, and Pedro, who has scored two goals and assisted on another two in only 352 minutes of action this injury-plagued season, will likely lead the home team’s assault in the absence of the aforementioned player.
The Biancocelesti’s only other injury worry is Brazilian defender Patric, therefore Nicolo Casale may be inserted into the back four in front of a major week in which they face Feyenoord and compete in the Derby Della Capitale.
After serving a ban in the Europa League, Manuel Lazzari has been reinstated.
Davide Nicola has reported no new injuries for Salernitana this week, but midfielder Giulio Maggiore will be sidelined again on Sunday.
In Nicola’s 3-5-2, former Lazio winger Antonio Candreva starts on the right side, with Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo on the left. Di Lorenzo has generated more opportunities from open play than any other Serie A defender this season.
A forward partner for Boulaye Dia, such as Federico Bonazzoli or Krzysztof Piatek, is recommended.
- Lazio Possible Starting Lineup: Provedel, Lazzari, Casale, Romagnoli, Marusic, Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi, Alberto, Pedro, Anderson, Zaccagni.
- Salernitana Possible Starting Lineup: Sepe, Gyomber, Daniliuc, Fazio, Candreva, Coulibaly, Radovanovic, Vilhena, Mazzocchi, Dia, Bonazzoli.
Our Prediction: Lazio 2-0 Salernitana
Salernitana’s journey to the capital seems bound to fail as they have scored only three times away from home this season. Lazio is solid defensively and dangerous offensively, so even if they let off a little in preparation for next week’s big games, they should still prevail.
