Juventus v Lazio – Preview: Aquile next obstacle in Bianconeri Scudetto march

Date: 19th April 2016 at 7:50pm
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SS Lazio v Juventus FC - Serie AJuventus’ romp to the Serie A title will resume when they face Lazio at the Juventus Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Bianconeri are in imperious form having won their last seven games and not tasted defeat in 23. Massimiliano Allegri’s side swept Palermo aside 4-0 on Sunday afternoon, and are showing no signs of letting up.

Lazio have picked up a little bit of form themselves since the departure of Stefano Pioli. Simone Inzaghi has led his side to two wins, and the Biancocelesti are unbeaten in nine away games. Indeed, despite their inconsistency under Pioli, Lazio have lost just three times since these two sides met in early December.

That game ended 2-0, with a Santiago Gentiletti own goal and Paulo Dybala ensuring the points went back to Turin. Defeat has become a familiar story for Lazio in this fixture; the Roman side have not beaten Juventus since December 2003, when Stefano Fiore and Bernardo Corradi clinched the win.

That gives the Bianconeri an unbeaten run of 22 games against Lazio, and a huge advantage in the overall head-to-head. The two sides have met 143 times previously, with Juventus winning 75 to Lazio’s 32 – just eight of which have been away wins.

Allegri was rocked by the injury to Claudio Marchisio at the weekend, and he joins an injury list containing Giorgio Chiellini, Roberto Pereyra and Neto, while Alvaro Morata’s late booking against the Rosanero earned him a suspension.

Inzaghi has injury problems of his own, with a host of players unavailable. Stefan de Vrij and Stefan Radu are long term absentees, but Etrit Berisha, Edson Braafheid, Abdoulaye Konko and Stefano Mauri have recently joined them on the treatment table. Milan Bisevac is also a doubt, though he is expected to make it, and should start alongside Gentiletti on Wednesday evening.

Juventus - Lazio

Antonio Candreva is closing in on Lazio’s Top 20 all time top scorers; his next goal will be his 44th for the club, bringing him level in that position with Enrique Flamini. Meanwhile, despite his relatively short time with the club, Miroslav Klose has scored five times more for the Aquile than his new coach did – 60 to 55.

Wednesday night will mark Gianluigi Buffon’s 37th game against Lazio. Only against Milan has he played more often. He will be looking for a 20th clean sheet of the season, which would give him a coincidental 20 against the Aquile, his most against any opponent along with Udinese.

Form Guide

Juventus (W-W-W-W-W), Lazio (W-D-L-W-W)

Expected Starting XIs

Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Rugani; Cuadrado, Khedira, Lemina, Pogba, Evra; Mandzukic, Dybala

Lazio: Marchetti; Basta, Bisevac, Gentiletti, Lulic; Onazi, Biglia, Parolo; Candreva, Klose, Keita.

Infographic Source: www.sporticos.com

 

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