Lazio come into the match against Milan fighting tooth and nail to secure European qualification, but will they be strong enough to overcome the Scudetto hopefuls?
The Roman club are looking a little inconsistent heading into Sunday’s match against the Rossoneri, coming off a puzzling 1-1 draw with Torino. Before that, they’d picked up strong wins over Genoa 4-1 and Sassuolo 2-1, so they’ll be hoping to re-discover their shine this weekend.
Milan also slipped against Torino recently, allowing intercity rivals Inter to close within two points at the top of the table. They cannot afford to drop any points at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening and so the match will surely prove to be an electric but tense affair.
The match between Milan and Lazio kicks off at 20.45 local time on Sunday at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Lazio vs Milan: Team News
Lazio have been struck with a serious flu outbreak this week, leaving seven players in doubt ahead of Sunday’s clash. Thomas Strakosha, Marius Adamonis, Adam Marusic, Stefan Radu, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Danilo Cataldi and Raul Moro are all suffering from fever and gastrointestinal issues and may miss Sunday’s match.
Pedro and Patric are also in doubt due to muscle issues, leaving Maurizio Sarri with a significantly weakened Lazio squad for a key match.
Things are not so simple for Stefano Pioli either; Alessandro Florenzi, Samu Castillejo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Simon Kjaer are all sidelined with injury, and Ante Rebic is also in doubt due to a knee problem.
Expected Starting Lineups
Sarri has a few doubts about his starting eleven ahead of Sunday’s match, hoping that the seven ill players will recover enough to take part in the game. The three players he’d be hoping to start are Milinkovic-Savic, Marusic and Strakosha, but he won’t take any risks should they not feel up to it.
Pioli has fewer doubts, hoping his Milan squad bounce back after a disappointing Coppa Italia semi-final loss to Inter earlier this week. His biggest doubts surround Junior Messias and Franck Kessie.
Lazio (4-3-3): Strakosha; Marusic, Acerbi, Luiz Felipe, Lazzari; Luis Alberto, Lucas Leiva, Milinkovic-Savic; Zaccagni, Immobile, Felipe Anderson.
Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Kalulu, Tomori, Hernandez; Tonali, Bennacer; Messias, Kessie, Leao; Giroud.
