Serie A

Lazio vs Juventus: Can Aquile make it three wins in three against Juve?

juventus-ucl
Getty Images

Lazio will hope to make it a third straight win over Juventus this season as they lock horns at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday evening.

The Aquile have already beaten the Bianconeri in the Supercoppa Italiana earlier this term to clinch their first piece of silverware. A Ciro Immobile brace was enough to also defeat Juventus in Turin, thus making Simone Inzaghi’s men the first to earn all three points at Allianz Stadium since Udinese in August 2015.

However, Lazio haven’t beaten Juve three straight times in over two decades. And they’re coming into this game having lost to AC Milan in the Coppa Italia – a tie that went to 120 minutes and penalties, so fatigue could play a role here. Juventus, meanwhile, defeated Atalanta to book yet another Coppa final spot.

This weekend is set to be a very interesting one for calcio fans. Napoli and Roma lock horns later in the day, so Juventus obviously will want to take maximum points from this game in order to keep up the pressure on the Partenopei, who sit four points clear but don’t have a game in hand. Meanwhile, Lazio are in a close battle with cross-town rivals Roma and Inter for the last two Champions League berths, and the Nerazzurri will be facing Milan in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday.

Juventus have won their last nine games and have conceded just one Serie A goal. In addition, despite losing to Lazio twice already, they’ve won their last four away meetings with the Aquile and certainly won’t want to give up anything here, especially ahead of their must-win tie with Tottenham next week. Gonzalo Higuain, however, won’t be fit for this fixture and is a major doubt for the trip to London on Wednesday. Lazio, meanwhile, are also in Europa League action, as they face Czech outfit Viktoria Plzen, and Inzaghi will have to decide if to rotate his squad here or go all out.

It’s the first of three must-watch fixtures starting this weekend. Will Lazio become the first side to do a double in Serie A over Juventus, and in doing so, beat Juventus three times in a row this season? Or will Juventus close the gap on Napoli to one point – and make the Partenopei very nervous in the process? This will be one game definitely not to miss out on, as Juventus will also be eager for revenge having lost here to Lazio in the Supercoppa Italiana at the start of this season.

Michelle Bonsu

Freelance football journalist based in New York. Primarily support AC Milan as well as the Ghanaian and Italian NT’s, but you’ll find me watching the Bundesliga and Premier League as well–enjoy a good game, regardless of where it’s being played. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of my favourite players.