After a fifteen point deduction, winning the Coppa Italia might be Juventus’ best shot at European football next season. Lazio will try to spoil that party on Thursday night at the Allianz Stadium.
Juventus haven’t been on their best run of form since they were punished for the capital gains case. Atalanta were held to a 3-3 draw in Turin, while Monza managed to beat the Bianconeri for the second time this season. Goals by Patrick Ciurria and Dany Mota were enough to take the three points back home. This loss saw Juventus drop to thirteenth in Serie A. Coincidentally, Monza were the side Juventus beat 2-1 not long before to get to the Coppa Italia quarter finals.
The visitors, Lazio, managed to beat Milan convincingly in the midweek fixture (4-0), but were unable to win against Fiorentina during the weekend. Nicolò Casale scored after only eight minutes of football, but his opener was canceled out by a beautiful Nico González curler in the second half. The Biancocelesti are third in the league, but the gaps are tight. Before facing Juventus in the quarter finals, Lazio beat Bologna 1-0 at home in the rond of 16.
Earlier this season, Juventus comfortably put Lazio aside at the Allianz, with Moise Kean finding the net twice and Arek Milik adding the third one just before the final whistle. The side from the capital get their chance for redemption now.
Results from their last five matches in all competitions
Juventus: L-D-W-L-W
Lazio: D-W-W-W-D
Team news
As if the Monza loss wasn’t enough already, Juventus ended the match with one man less, as Arek Milik left the field injured. He’ll be out for a considerable amount of time. Paul Pogba was on the bench against the Biancorossi, but has had a setback in his recovery, again. Kaio Jorge is also still out, the same goes for Leonardo Bonucci.
This mean Dusan Vlahović and Federico Chiesa are ready to go and expected to start together in attack. A change in goal is expected, with Mattia Perin replacing Wojciech Szczęsny.
Lazio have a fully fit squad and in addition to that, they secured a loan deal for Juventus’ Luca Pellegrini with an option to buy. He’s not expected to start though, as Adam Marusic is still the preffered option at the moment.
Patric is expected to come in for Casale, while Provodel makes way for Maximiano. Ciro Immoble could also start up top.
Predicted XI’s
Juventus (3-5-2): Perin; Bremer, Danilo, Alex Sandro; Cuadrado, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostić; Chiesa, Vlahović.
Lazio (4-3-3): Maximiano; Lazzari, Patric, Romagnoli, Marusić; Milinković-Savić, Luis Alberto, Cataldi; Anderson, Immobile, Zaccagni.
Jurre van Wanrooij | GIFN
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