Laziovs.Fiorentina

The Biancocelesti swept past Hellas Verona before slaying 10-man opponents to stay top of the Europa League, but their Tuscan counterparts still await a first win of 2025.

Match preview

Their knockout place already confirmed with two rounds remaining, Europa League leaders Lazio welcomed Real Sociedad to Stadio Olimpico on Thursday evening, when direct entry to the last 16 was safely secured.

Mario Gila's early goal had put the Rome club on course for victory before their Basque visitors were reduced to 10 men, and further strikes from captain Mattia Zaccagni and top scorer Taty Castellanos wrapped up a 3-1 win.

Still unbeaten in continental competition, the Biancocelesti top the standings by three points, meaning they can afford to take their foot off the gas in next week's league-phase finale, away to Braga.

A few days earlier, Lazio had put three past Verona at Stadio Bentegodi, with Zaccagni finding the net against his old club, so they can now target their first consecutive Serie A wins since November.

Marco Baroni's men had been on the fringes of title contention until suffering a dip last month - most notably losing the Derby della Capitale to arch-rivals Roma - and they have taken just one point from their last three league games at the Olimpico.

Nonetheless, they are still very much in the mix for Champions League qualification, while a meeting with Inter Milan awaits in February's Coppa Italia quarter-finals.

With no losses and six wins from their last eight home games against Fiorentina, precedent also suggests that they can prevail again this weekend.

However, the visitors will have other plans, as after a 2-1 win in September's reverse fixture, Fiorentina could finally do the double over Lazio for the first time since 2013.

Recent results indicate they face an uphill struggle, as head coach Raffaele Palladino has seen his team's form nosedive over the past few weeks.

Although star striker Moise Kean gave Fiorentina the lead against 10-man Torino last time out, they failed to hold on and end a worrying winless streak - despite playing for nearly an hour with one extra player.

Following a disappointing 1-1 home draw, the Tuscan club have won none of their last six league games, equalling their worst such streak since late 2020.

The Viola's mid-season slump has also featured defeat to rock-bottom Monza, plus a three-goal beating by Napoli, leaving them sixth in Serie A - now six points adrift of Lazio.

Already out of the Coppa Italia, and with the Conference League on hiatus, they must now try to turn things around in Italy's top flight, but a tough test awaits on Sunday.

Lazio Serie A form:

L

W

D

L

D

W

Lazio form (all competitions):

W

D

L

D

W

W

Fiorentina Serie A form:

L

L

D

L

L

D

Fiorentina form (all competitions):

D

L

D

L

L

D

Team News

Lazio may make a handful of changes to the team that started against Real Sociedad, with Ivan Provedel set to replace cup goalkeeper Christos Mandas.

Samuel Gigot and Luca Pellegrini will both return from suspension, and the latter could fill in at left-back if assist specialist Nuno Tavares fails to recover from a knee injury.

Manuel Lazzari, Patric and Matias Vecino are still sidelined by muscular problems, but new signing Arijon Ibrahimovic should start on the bench.

Taty Castellanos and Boulaye Dia - the latter of whom has scored in his last two league games and has previously netted a hat-trick against Fiorentina - usually join forces up front, while Moise Kean leads the Viola's attack.

Kean is just one goal shy of equalling his best-ever league tally of 13, for Paris Saint-Germain in 2020-21; incidentally, nine of his dozen Serie A strikes so far have come during the first half.

Fiorentina's only fitness concerns are Andrea Colpani (ankle) and Danilo Cataldi (thigh). If the latter cannot start, then Amir Richardson, Rolando Mandragora and recent arrival Michael Folorunsho - a boyhood Lazio fan - will compete to partner Yacine Adli in midfield.

Italy Under-21s right-back Michael Kayode has just joined Brentford on loan, but Dodo is Raffaele Palladino's first choice in any case.

Lazio possible starting lineup:

Provedel; Hysaj, Gigot, Gila, Pellegrini; Rovella, Guendouzi; Isaksen, Dia, Zaccagni; Castellanos

Fiorentina possible starting lineup:

De Gea; Dodo, Comuzzo, Ranieri, Gosens; Adli, Mandragora; Colpani, Gudmundsson, Folorunsho; Kean

We say: Lazio 2-1 Fiorentina

As well as being imperious in Europe, Lazio have lost just once as hosts all season, so an off-colour Fiorentina team are unlikely to defeat them.

Written by

Jonathan O'Shea

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