On Friday, January 15, 2021, the Stadio Olimpico hosts Lazio vs Roma in Matchday 18 of the 2020/21 Serie A.
In the 174 times that the two clubs have played each other in Serie A, the Biancocelesti have won on 46 occasions, the Giallorossi have won on 66 occasions and there have been 62 draws. When playing at home, Lazio has a record of 28W-28D-29L against Roma.
As it stands in the top flight of Italian football, the Biancocelesti sit in eighth with a record of 8W-4D-5L (28 points) and the Giallorossi sit in third with a record of 10W-4D-3L (34 points).
Expected Starting Lineups
Lazio (3-5-2): Reina; Luiz Felipe, Acerbi, Radu; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto, Marusic; Caicedo, Immobile
- Unavailable: Proto, Fares, Correa, Strakosha
- Disqualified: –
- One Yellow Card Away From Suspension: Fares, Caicedo, Escalante, Hoedt
Roma (3-4-2-1): Pau Lopez; Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez; Karsdorp, Veretout, Villar, Spinazzola; Pellegrini, Mkhitaryan; Dzeko
- Unavailable: Mirante, Santon, Calafiori, Pastore, Zaniolo
- Disqualified: –
- One Yellow Card Away From Suspension: Cristante, Ibanez
Lazio vs Roma: Prediction
This match takes place after Lazio won 2-0 against Parma at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in Matchday 17 of the 2020/21 Serie A. It was a great result from the Biancocelesti, who put forth their best performance and capitalized on their chances. Lazio controlled most of the play in the first half as they limited Parma’s chances. The second half continued with Lazio dictating the tempo and pace of the match, and minutes before the hour mark, Manuel Lazzari advanced down the right side unmarked and crossed the ball towards Luis Alberto inside the box. The midfielder was left uncovered and sent his shot towards the far-left corner and out of Sepe’s reach to give Lazio the 1-0 lead. Just over ten minutes later, Lazio extended their lead to 2-0 from beautiful one-touch passing play between Adam Marusic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ciro Immobile. It resulted in a goal when Milinkovic-Savic chipped the ball over Sepe and Caicedo, who was left all alone in the goal area, put a powerful shot into the open net to double the Biancocelesti’s lead and close the game.
In Roma’s recent match against Inter Milan, they were held to an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Stadio Olimpico. Within the first twenty minutes of the match, Lorenzo Pellegrini scored first to give the Giallorossi the early lead. Jordan Veretout did a great job of tracking back and winning a clear and strong challenge on Nicolo Barella. The midfielder advanced the ball towards Eden Dzeko and he passed it to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who then chipped it towards Pellegrini. The midfielder was left uncovered and sent a shot towards goal that redirected off Inter defender, Alessandro Bastoni and into the net. After a great performance from Roma in the first half, the start to the second half was the opposite. For nearly 25 minutes of the second half, Roma became too complacent and allowed Inter back into the match as the Nerazzurri started to show more intensity. Just before the hour mark, Marcelo Brozovic sent an accurate cross into the box off a corner kick and Milan Skriniar, who was left unmarked, scored with a powerful header past Roma goalkeeper, Pau Lopez. Seven minutes later, Inter struck once more as they brought the ball forward from some precise and clean passing. In the build-up, Achraf Hakimi received a pass from Brozovic just outside the box and released an accurate and wicked left-footed shot passed Lopez. Inter gained the lead, yet they became too relaxed and let it slip away. With under five minutes remaining, Roma tied the game off a corner kick as Gianluca Mancini headed the ball past Handanovic as he outmuscled Skriniar for the ball.
In recent times, Lazio have shown better form in Serie A as they have won two straight matches and are unbeaten in their last three games. They’ve been able to collect points in four of their five past games and entering their match vs Roma with plenty of momentum. This season, the Biancocelesti have managed to earn points against Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli as they have shown to be a difficult opponent against the upper echelon clubs. However, They have struggled for consistency this season and this was due to poor defending and not being clinical with their chances. Lazio need to continue winning and keep pace as they are currently sitting in eighth place and five points back of Juventus, who are in fourth place and a game in hand versus Napoli. As for Roma, they are in fourth place and six points back of AC Milan for first place. The Giallorossi have yet to defeat a top-six club this season as they have lost to Atalanta and Napoli and have drawn against Milan, Inter and Juventus. In recent times, Roma have shown good form as they’ve lost once in their last eight Serie A matches and are unbeaten in four straight games.
This should be a highly entertaining battle between both sides. Roma aims to stay within the top four and qualify for the Champions League after missing out in the past three seasons. Meanwhile, Lazio will look to make up ground and stay near the top of the table after a slow start this season. If Lazio are to pick up the three points, they will need to be highly motivated, not let their guard down and be much better defensively against a Roma side who has been difficult to beat and have shown to score this season.
Lazio vs Roma: 2-2
