Lazio fans have asked the squad to “honour the shirt” in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Bayern Munich this evening.
According to a report from Italian media outlet La Lazio Siamo Noi earlier today, as the Biancocelesti are not expected to overturn the 4-1 deficit suffered against the Bavarian side in the first leg, the Lazio faithful are simply hoping for the Roman club to have a good game against Bayern this evening in Germany.
Supporters have been vocal on social media, with some examples of the fans’ support being:
Honour the shirt, the history and the fans of Lazio…
Come on, let us be respected!
Play without fear…
Head and heart!
Considering the deficit and the difference in resources between the two clubs, many Lazio fans are simply hoping for a good showing against Bayern, even if the club don’t progress to the next round of the competition.
Simone Inzaghi will line up his Lazio in his preferred 3-5-2 formation. While nearly every starter will be available, two notable absences will be Brazilian central defender Luiz Felipe and Italian right wing-back Manuel Lazzari. As a result, Milan loanee Mateo Musacchio will start alongside Francesco Acerbi and Stefan Radu in the backline, while Mohamed Fares will start on the left flank (and Adam Marusic on the right flank). With regards to the rest of the starting eleven, the only other surprise is that Inzaghi may opt to use a front two of Joaquin Correa and Vedat Muriqi instead of Ciro Immobile and Felipe Caicedo. With the prolific striker currently on a goal-drought, the Italian tactician may opt to switch up his attacking options in hopes of scoring multiple goals this evening.
Hansi Flick will line up his Bayern Munich in his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation. While players such as Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry and Benjamin Pavard have recently returned from injury, starters David Alaba, Kingsley Coman and Manuel Neuer seem likely to not start this match against the Biancocelesti due to injury. As a result, Alexander Nübel is likely to start in goal, Lucas Hernandez is set to fill in for the experienced Austrian defender and Leroy Sané is expected to start on the left flank.
Here are the probable starting lineups of both Bayern Munich and Lazio.
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Nubel; Sule, Boateng, Hernandez, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Gnabry, Muller, Sané; Lewandowski
Lazio (3-5-2): Reina; Musacchio, Acerbi, Radu; Marusic, Milinkovic, Escalante, Luis Alberto, Fares; Correa, Muriqi
