Juventus vs. Lazio: Bianconeri aim to get revenge on Biancocelesti
Juventus will be looking to get revenge on Lazio when they welcome them to the Allianz Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Bianconeri have won 37 out of their last 38 home matches at the Allianz Stadium, a formidable home record. However, Lazio have already beaten Juventus earlier this season, when they edged them out 3-2 in an entertaining Supercoppa Italiana match. It was the perfect revenge for the Biancocelesti after losing the 2015 edition in Shanghai. Simone Inzaghi’s men have picked up right where they left off from last season, and have done quite solidly in their Europa League campaign as well.
Competing on two fronts hasn’t slowed Lazio down much. They sit in a solid fourth spot, with just one loss in their last five Serie A fixtures. So far, they’ve already defeated AC Milan, and whilst they were no match for a rampant Napoli, they responded well by winning their next three across all competitions, whilst conceding just one goal. That includes a 6-1 rout of Sassuolo and a 2-0 win in their Europa League group stage campaign against Zulte-Waregem.
Ciro Immobile in particular has been in inspired form and is already in a close race with Juve’s Paulo Dybala for the coveted Capocannoniere title. Whilst his goal against Sassuolo was just the icing on the cake, he’s been the focal point for this Lazio side and will arguably be so for the team here. Meanwhile, Juventus ended up drawing with Atalanta after going ahead, and that result now sees them in a position they haven’t been in all season – in direct second.
Napoli sit two points clear, but Juventus could temporarily overtake the Partenopei with a win in the first of three exciting fixtures this weekend. Massimiliano Allegri has now welcomed back Sami Khedira from injury, but now Miralem Pjanic is out injured. There are concerns about Andrea Barzagli and Mario Mandzukic, who picked up knocks on international duty, but both are still expected to be thrown into action nonetheless, despite the fact that Juventus have a must-win clash against Portuguese outfit Sporting CP coming up next week.
So far, all of Juve’s conceded goals have been in their travels. Will Lazio become the first team so far this season to net against the Bianconeri, whilst making it a second straight win against the Serie A champs this season? Or will Juventus manage to get revenge on Lazio for beating them in the season curtain opener at the start of this term?
