Lazio vs Milan: Coppa Italia preview, prediction and where to watch

By Sam Wilson - 26 Feb 2019, 13:58

Lazio vs Milan - Coppa Italia First Leg

Lazio vs Milan takes place at the Stadio Olimpico this evening as the Biancocelesti look to survive their injury crisis and give themselves a vital lead heading into the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final. Playing the first leg at home gives Simone Inzaghi’s side the chance to silence the critics and perhaps experiment with formation, in a lower risk environment.

Lazio come into this game without a win in their last three matches. A 3-0 aggregate defeat to Sevilla sent them crashing out of the UEFA Europa League whilst the side also suffered a 2-1 defeat to Genoa the weekend before last. At home, Lazio have also been more inconsistent in the past few weeks than they have at any point this season. Out of their last five games at the Olimpico, Lazio have picked up just two victories – against Empoli and Novara, the latter in the Coppa Italia. However, narrow 1-0 and 2-1 defeats to Sevilla and Juventus respectively give Lazio some cause for optimism, useful in a scenario like today when optimism and high spirits will be needed. Lazio are suffering from a ton of injuries; with players such as Luis Alberto, Luiz Felipe, Wallace, Bastos and Valon Berisha all set to miss the match; Brazilian defensive midfielder Lucas Leiva expected to start at centre-back.

Milan, meanwhile, are in a fantastic run of form. In addition to the arrival of both Krzysztof Piatek and Lucas Paqueta, who signed for the club in January, Milan have not lost in seven games and have won five of those. In those seven games, Milan have conceded just two goals – meaning Lazio will have to be at their most prolific if they wish to penetrate the rossoneri defence. If Milan score first, Lazio should be worried; Gattuso’s side having not conceded more than one goal in a match since their embarrassing 3-1 defeat to Olympiakos in December; which saw the side crash out of the Europa League during the group stage. On the road, Milan have lost just once in their last seven, which came to league leaders Juventus in a narrow 1-0 defeat on the 16th of January.

Lazio vs Milan: Expected Line-Ups

Lazio (4-3-2-1): Strakosha; Patric, Leiva, Acerbi, Lulic; Romulo, Badelj, Parolo; Correa, Milinkovic-Savic; Immobile

Milan (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Calabria, Musacchio, Romagnoli, Laxalt; Kessie, Bakayoko, Paqueta; Suso, Piatek, Borini

Lazio vs Milan: Prediction

This will certainly be a tough game to predict; and is dependent on some external factors. If Inzaghi does choose to play with a 4-man defence, the side will perhaps be less likely to concede yet may struggle with the offensive side of things. Milan are in formidable form but the last three meetings between these two clubs have finished as draws at the 90 minute mark. Therefore, this match has a similar feeling and Lazio 1-1 Milan is my prediction for the full-time score.