LAZIO VS JUVENTUS PREVIEW & PREDICTION
Juventus managed midweeks to reach the final of the Coppa Italia. On Saturday, Lazio Roma will have to be won again in order to maximize the pressure on Napoli.
Lazio :
Lazio Roma is currently the ‘best of the rest’ in the Serie A. The Romans did not manage to keep pace with Napoli and Juventus, which in itself is no disgrace, and therefore the third place seems to be the highest possible season this season. to be. The difference with number two Juventus has risen to thirteen points and Lazio will have to perform a miracle to close that gap, especially given the fact that the Old Lady leaves almost no points. To get that third place more firmly in the hands, the team of trainer Simone Inzaghi will have to continue to perform, since any misstep can be fatal. Internazionale follows a point and fellow townsman AS Roma is a point again. Thus Lazio has to deal with a lot of pressure from below.
Midweeks Lazio was presented with an excellent opportunity to reach the final of the Coppa Italia. The away match against AC Milan ended in 0-0 at the end of January, making Lazio the favorite to win the diptych. In the end it did not come about and that was a big disappointment for the Romans. After 120 minutes of football the glasses stand was still on the board and then AC Milan managed to secure the ticket for the final by penalty kicks. For Lazio Roma, Sergej Milinkovic, Lucas Leiva and Luiz Felipe missed a penalty.
The heavy midweek race will undoubtedly affect the fitness of the selection and that is bad news as Juventus is one of the toughest opponents. Inzaghi will not be able to call on Adam Marusic for the game with the team from Turin anyway. The Montenegrin was recently sent off the field in the match against Sassuolo with a direct red card and that has put him on a hefty suspension. Martin Caceres is not fit and he will most likely have to miss this match.
Juventus :
Juventus is currently dealing with a very heavy schedule as the team of trainer Massimiliano Allegri is still active on three fronts. The formation from Turin is second in the Serie A, is still in the race in the Champions League and captured a ticket for the final of the Coppa Italia on Wednesday-evening. The months of harvesting are now breaking up and that is why it is now important for a team like Juventus to deal with the energy as efficiently as possible. In recent weeks, it has been pretty nice. Fiorentina and Torino were put aside with small victories and last Wednesday Atalanta Bergamo was happily defeated 1-0 in the Coppa Italia. The only really disappointing result of the last weeks is the 2-2 tie for the home crowd against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League. In that match, the Italians gave up a 2-0 lead. In the Serie A the shape is impressive. In the last eleven games Juventus had only two points and in ten of those matches the zero was held. In 2018 it is not yet an opponent in the Serie A managed to score against the Old Lady.
As said, Juventus won midweek from Atalanta Bergamo in the Coppa Italia. The away match had already yielded a solid 0-1 win and therefore the Allegri men in Turin could play their favorite game. They relied on the organization again to frustrate the visitors. Eventually, Juventus again drew 1-0 at the longest end. A slightly doubtful penalty from Miralem Pjanic in the 75th minute proved to be enough to reach the final. Juventus will now work with a good feeling towards the showdown with Lazio Roma. The form of the defense gives this team an extra boost and Allegri has enough players to decide which matches.
It will be interesting to see with which formation Allegri will come for the day. The return of next week in London against Tottenham Hotspur is also on the program and the coach still wants to rot around European duels. Juan Cuadrado, Filippo Bernardeschi and Mattia De Sciglio are not in action because of their injuries, but their absence will not affect the performance. It would be no surprise if Allegri chooses to save players like Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala. The match against Lazio Roma should certainly not be underestimated, but Allegri will probably give some basic players some rest.
PREDICTION: Under 2.5 goals @ 1.71
