On Saturday, December 12, 2020, the Stadio Olimpico hosts Lazio vs Hellas Verona in Matchday 11 of the 2020/21 Serie A.
The Head Referee for this clash will be Rosario Abisso, the Assistant Referees will be Mondin and Mastrodonato, the Fourth Official will be Manganiello, and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be Mazzoleni with the assistance of Liberti.
In the 46 times that the two clubs have played each other in Serie A, the Biancocelesti have won on 18 occasions, the Gialloblu have won on 11 occasions and there have been 17 draws. When playing at home, Lazio has a record of 13W-8D-2L against Verona.
As it stands in the top flight of Italian football, the Biancocelesti sit in seventh with a record of 5W-2D-3L (17 points) and the Gialloblu sit in eighth with a record of 4W-4D-2L (16 points).
Expected Starting Lineups
Lazio (3-5-2): Reina; Parolo, Acerbi, Radu; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Akpa Akpro, Fares; Caicedo, Immobile
- Unavailable: Proto, Lulic, Muriqi, Patric
- Disqualified: –
- One Yellow Card Away From Suspension: Lucas Leiva, Akpa Akpro
Hellas Verona (3-4-2-1): Silvestri; Dawidowicz, Lovato, Dimarco; Faraoni, Tameze, Veloso, Lazovic; Barak, Zaccagni; Di Carmine
- Unavailable: Cetin, Kalinic, Vieira, Benassi
- Disqualified: Ceccherini
- One Yellow Card Away From Suspension: –
Prediction: Lazio 2-1 Hellas Verona
This match takes place after Lazio tied Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge 2-2 at the Stadio Olimpico in Matchday 6 of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League. This match had plenty of implications for both sides as they were aiming to book their place into the Round of 16. The home side had a quick start as Joaquin Correa scored within the first fifteen minutes. The Argentine followed up on Luis Alberto’s initial shot which was stopped by Brugge goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet. The lead only lasted minutes as Brugge scored off Lazio’s mishap and poor defending. Ruud Vormer scored from inside the Lazio box to tie the match at 1-1. Right before the half-hour mark, Lazio were awarded a penalty as Ciro Immobile was fouled in the box by Clinton Mata. The Italian converted from the spot and Lazio regained the lead. The Biancocelesti played just over half the match being a man up yet this didn’t stop Brugge, who showed great resiliency. The visitors scored a late equalizer from Hans Vanaken as he converted a cross from Vormer. Brugge was denied the win as Charles De Ketelaere’s shot went off the crossbar in the final minutes of the match and was not enough to have them proceed into the Round of 16. As for Lazio, they advanced to the round of 16 after 20 years.
In Verona’s recent match against Cagliari in Serie A, they tied 1-1 after a valiant effort that should have seen them take the full three points. Within the first ten minutes of the match, Verona had the first quality scoring opportunity. Off a corner kick, Samuel Di Carmine struck the cross-bar from the left side of the goal. On the ensuing play, Cagliari struggled to clear the ball towards safety and Di Carmine scored on a second chance. After the review of VAR, it was ruled that he was offside and the goal was disallowed. At the twenty-minute mark, Barak made a precise pass up the right flank to find Davide Faraoni and the forward made his run into the goal. He sent a cross into the goal area and Mattia Zaccagni did a good job of beating out his man and gave his side a 1-0 lead. After a poor first half from Cagliari, they started the second half with the right intensity. The build-up was very good from the visitors with some nice one-touch passing and brilliant lay-off from Leonardo Pavoletti to Razvan Marin who went through the middle of the defense and struck his shot past goalkeeper, Marco Silvestri to tie the match at 1-1. Each side exchanged chances but with neither able to convert, this game ended in a draw that earned a point for both sides.
In recent times, Lazio have been in good form as they’ve lost once in their last twelve matches in all competitions. Their lead man, Immobile continues to lead the way as he’s scored in nine straight matches in all competitions. Over that span, he has scored a total of ten goals and playing tremendous football. Aside from Immobile, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has also stepped up as in his previous Serie A match, he scored one goal and an assist, leading his team to a victory. He played a pivotal role in their Champions League game versus Brugge as he dictated the tempo and pace of the midfield and was very technical. He finished with two key passes, four aerial duels won, seven accurate long passes and a passing accuracy of 85.4%. As for Verona, they are following up with another successful season and have proven to be a difficult team to play against. They have lost just once in their past seven matches in all competitions and are showing great form. If Lazio is to pick up the win, they will need to be focused and not take their opponent lightly. They have shown to be much stronger in the Champions League but with that competition set to resume in February, Lazio will now be able to focus and have a better mindset towards league competition.
