A battle between two of last season's top four in Serie A will get the weekend of football in Italy underway on Friday, when AC Milan travel to the capital to face Lazio.
With a huge encounter against Bayern Munich on the horizon next week in the Champions League, Lazio need a result here if they are to keep their faint hopes alive of qualifying for UEFA's premier competition again next season.
Match preview
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Lazio continued their wildly inconsistent run of form by falling to defeat in Tuscany to Fiorentina last weekend.
Since their Supercoppa disappointment, Lazio have won three and lost three of their seven matches, losing a few very important matchups which could dictate how the top four looks at the end of the season.
Those three defeats coming against Fiorentina, Atalanta BC and Bologna have been damaging, as it also gave their direct rivals for the top four an important three points.
That has left them eight points adrift of the top four, and Napoli's 6-1 win over Sassuolo on Wednesday means they have also moved level on points with Lazio, who enter the weekend down in eighth.
A repeat of last season's scoreline in this fixture would do them the world of good, as they beat Milan 4-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in January 2023, but starting the weekend 13 points behind their upcoming opponents suggest that is unlikely.
Manager Maurizio Sarri would also like to see his side hit form just ahead of arguably his biggest game since taking charge, when the Biancocelesti travel to Bavaria on Tuesday.
After a phenomenal start to 2024, Milan have started to stutter slightly and struggled against Atalanta once against last weekend.
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Having already lost to La Dea twice this season, Stefano Pioli's side could only manage a 1-1 draw at San Siro, as Rafael Leao's wonder goal was cancelled out by a Teun Koopmeiners penalty.
That extended their winless run to three games, after losing their last league encounter 4-2 to Monza the week before.
A defeat in France to Rennes ultimately meant little as their 3-0 lead from the first leg meant their place in the last of the Europa League was already virtually secured, but they must arrest this current winless run if they are to retain their spot in the top four.
Taking one point from their last two games has well and truly finished off any unlikely title challenge, and Juventus are still four points clear despite some indifferent form of their own.
There is still a healthy gap to the sides below the Rossoneri, but the form of teams like Bologna and Atalanta in particular means Milan need to be wary, and another defeat could be costly here.
Team News
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Lazio have two main injury concerns ahead of this clash, as they are expected to be without Patric, who has a sprained ankle, while a groin issue is likely to keep Nicolo Rovella out.
Despite the mammoth clash with Bayern on Tuesday, Sarri may be reluctant to make any personnel changes to allow for rest given the calibre of their opponents, so a largely strong side is likely.
The return of Mattia Zaccagni from injury has been well-timed as he played 45 minutes last week, but the Italy international may only be on the bench again, as a start against Bayern could be lined up instead.
Milan have just two injury concerns as well at present, as Tommaso Pobega is currently sidelined with a hamstring problem, and Mattia Caldara has been out long term.
Luka Jovic remains suspended after his straight red card against Monza two weeks ago, but a start for the Serbian is likely in their Europa League clash with Slavia Prague next midweek.
Pierre Kalulu and Davide Calabria both returned to the squad for the draw with Atalanta, and Fikayo Tomori is also expected to make a comeback sooner rather than later and could do so this weekend.
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provedel, Lazzari, Casale, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Guendouzi, Cataldi, Luis Alberto; Isaksen, Immobile, Felipe Anderson
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Florenzi, Thiaw, Gabbia, Hernandez; Reijnders, Bennacer, Loftus-Cheek; Pulisic, Giroud, Rafael Leao
We say: Lazio 1-1 AC Milan
The temptation will be there for Sarri to prioritise the clash with Bayern next week, but if focus slips they will be punished by a strong Milan side, so expect Lazio to go strong here.
The Rossoneri's three-match winless will not go on for too much longer, but this is another very difficult assignment for Pioli's men, and the spoils are likely to be shared against two sides with plenty of quality in the ranks.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
