Preview: Lazio vs. Bologna - prediction, team news, lineups

Both sides enter the fixture on the back of wins in Serie A at the weekend.

Match preview

Lazio were able to recover from the horror show that played out in their last home fixture by beating Sassuolo on the road on Sunday.

The game in question saw them draw 2-2 with Empoli, as it was the first time in 80 years that they failed to win a game when having a two-goal lead with 10 minutes to play.

Mattia Zaccagni and Felipe Anderson goals saw them see off strugglers Sassuolo though and that keeps them well in the hunt for Champions League qualification, but attention will now turn towards the cup.

Their involvement in the UEFA Europa League group stage means they have received a bye through the competition until this point, and it is a stage where they usually perform.

The last time they exited at this round was back in 2010-11 when local rivals Roma knocked them out.

Their cup pedigree is admirable as they have won the Coppa Italia six times in the last 25 years, with the most recent success coming in 2019 under Simone Inzaghi, but they have lost in the quarter-final in the last three seasons since then.

Bologna's cup record is not on the same level, but they will hope to cause an upset to reach the quarter-finals for just the second time since the turn of the millennium.

A quarter-final defeat to Inter in 2013 was the only other occasion they have made it further and the odds are stacked against them again.

That is because all six away defeats they have suffered this season have come against sides in the top seven of Serie A currently, including at Lazio on the opening day.

They lost 2-1 on that visit despite playing against 10 men for 84 minutes after a red card to Lazio keeper Luis Maximiano very early on.

They have at least improved on last year's showing though, when they disastrously lost 5-4 at home to mid-table Serie B side Ternana at home in the first round proper after being 5-1 down after just 54 minutes.

A win over Cagliari in the last round saw them make it here, as they seek a second-ever Coppa Italia crown, after their sole success in 1974.

They come into the game with spirits boosted though after taking advantage of Udinese's continued slump by taking all three points at the Dacia Arena at the weekend.

Top seven is almost certainly out of reach now, but they are just three points off Udinese who sit eighth, so a strong mid-table finish will be respectable for Thiago Motta's side.

Lazio Coppa Italia form:

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Bologna Coppa Italia form:

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Team News

This cup tie represents a perfect opportunity for teenage starlet Luka Romero to get some game time in the Lazio side.

The Argentine became Lazio's second-youngest ever goalscorer when he netted the winner against Monza in November, eight days shy of his 18th birthday.

After battling injury for most of the first half of the season, Ciro Immobile looks set to be sidelined again with a thigh injury after going off inside the opening quarter of an hour at Sassuolo.

Manuel Lazzari is available again after suspension, but Mario Gila will miss out on potential minutes as he is injured.

Gila played in five of Lazio's six Europa League group stage matches so he would have expected to start here if he was fit.

Marko Arnautovic remains out for Bologna as the Austrian, who scored eight in 13 games before the World Cup break, has been missing since their match with Roma.

His backup in attack, Joshua Zirkzee, is also out injured, so Motta has an unwelcome selection headache up front.

South American duo Nicolas Dominguez and Gary Medel are both back after serving respective bans for accumulation of yellow cards.

However, defenders Kevin Bonifazi and Lorenzo De Silvestri are both sidelined with injury.

Lazio possible starting lineup:

Provodel; Lazzari, Patric, Casale, Marusic; Milinkovic-Savic, Marcos Antonio, Basic; Pedro, Cancellieri, Zaccagni

Bologna possible starting lineup:

Bardi; Posch, Lucumi, Soumaoro, Lykogiannis; Moro, Schouten, Ferguson; Sansone, Orsolini, Barrow

We say: Lazio 2-0 Bologna

Manager Maurizio Sarri has enough attacking options in reserve to rest some of his big-hitters and cope with the absence of Immobile while still getting the job done here.

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