On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, the Stadio Olimpico hosts Lazio vs Fiorentina in Matchday 16 of the 2020/21 Serie A.
The Head Referee for this clash will be Rosario Abisso, the Assistant Referees will be Liberti and Fiore, the Fourth Official will be Manganiello, and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be Maresca with the assistance of Carbone.
In the 142 times that the two clubs have played each other in Serie A, the Biancocelesti have won on 54 occasions, the Viola have won on 46 occasions and there have been 16 draws. When playing at home, Lazio has a record of 35W-22D-14L against Fiorentina.
As it stands in the top flight of Italian football, the Biancocelesti sit in ninth with a record of 6W-4D-5L (22 points) and the Viola sit in fourteenth with a record of 3W-6D-6L (15 points).
Expected Starting Lineups
Lazio (3-5-2)
- Strakosha; Luiz Felipe, Hoedt, Acerbi; Lazzari, Milinkovic, Escalante, Luis Alberto, Marusic; Pereira, Caicedo
Fiorentina (3-5-2)
- Dragowski; Milenkovic, Pezzella, Igor; Caceres, Amrabat, Valero, Castrovilli, Biraghi; Ribery, Vlahovic
Prediction: Lazio 1-1 Fiorentina
This match takes place after Lazio tied 1-1 versus Genoa at the Luigi Ferraris in Matchday 15 of the 2020/21 Serie A. It was a disappointing result from the Biancocelesti, who put forth a good performance yet were unable to finish their chances. Within the first 15 minutes, Lazio struck first, as the visitors were awarded a penalty. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic won a foul which was originally given as a free-kick just outside the box. After further review from VAR, the call was reversed and changed to a penalty as Cristian Zapata fouled Milinkovic-Savic at the edge of the box. Ciro Immobile made no mistake from the spot and scored his tenth goal this season in Serie A. Although Lazio had a greater advantage in possession (61%-39%), they failed to extend the lead. Just before the hour mark, Genoa scored on the counter-attack as the Lazio players were caught out of position. Leiva failed to make a tackle on Eldor Shomurodov which led to the forward’s pass towards Mattia Destro down the right side inside the box. Destro was left unmarked, made no mistake as he tied the game and scored his fifth this season. In the last half hour, neither side was able to score and this game ended in a 1-1 draw.
In Fiorentina’s recent match against Bologna, they were held to a 0-0 draw at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Within the first five minutes of the match, the Viola had the game’s first best chance as Franck Ribery got around Jerdy Schouten at the left side of the box. The forward did a great job in making his run towards the goal yet was unable to beat Bologna goalkeeper Angelo da Costa as his shot struck the left post. At the fifteen-minute mark, Bologna had their first chance off a corner kick. Riccardo Orsolini opted to go with a short pass to Musa Barrow who then passed back to the forward. Orsolini made his run towards the Fiorentina box and his shot just sailed wide of the target yet it was a quality scoring chance from the Italian. Just after the half-hour mark, Bologna had another chance as Germán Pezzella had a poor touch on the ball and got away from the defender. Caught out of position, Palacio gained possession and went down the right-wing but was unable to score as da Costa made the save and the midfielder was on a tight angle. Bologna had their chances but were unsuccessful in finding the winner. Fiorentina had limited opportunities and it was a bitter disappointment after a strong performance against Juventus where they won 3-0.
In recent times, Lazio have shown better form in Serie A yet have struggled to beat the mid-lower table sides. This season, the Biancocelesti have dropped points against Benevento, Udinese, Hellas Verona and this past weekend against Genoa. Although they have put in formidable performances this season, they have struggled to be clinical and decisive. Currently sitting in ninth place and six points back of Napoli who are in fourth place and a game in hand versus Juventus, Lazio need to start winning games to keep pace. As for Fiorentina, they aim to avoid dropping further down the table as they are four points from Spezia as they hold the final spot in the relegation zone. The Viola have struggled to find consistency in recent times as they have won once in their past seven matches under Cesare Prandelli in Serie A.
This will be an intense battle between the two sides. One aims to return to the Champions League next season while the other looks to avoid relegation. The last time these two teams met at the Stadio Olimpico, Lazio won 2-1 from a questionable call on Felipe Caicedo that earned them a penalty from the spot and capped it off with a late winner from Luis Alberto. If Lazio are to pick up the three points, the Biancocelesti will need to be highly motivated, not let their guard down and be much better defensively against a Fiorentina side who has shown to be inconsistent and show poor form this season.
