Thanks to a 4-0 win over Palermo, Juventus took a giant stride towards a fifth-consecutive Serie A title this past weekend and will look to press home their advantage when a resurgent Lazio arrive in Turin on Wednesday evening.
The club from the Italian capital have endured a tumultuous season so far, with Simone Inzaghi taking over as coach earlier this month following the dismissal of Stefano Pioli after an embarrassing 4-1 defeat to bitter rivals AS Roma.
Under Inzaghi’s guidance, they have secured wins over Empoli and Palermo to climb back into eighth-place, but the new Lazio boss told Sky Sport Italia that there is still room for improvement from his side.
“Those matches might’ve seemed easier than they were,” Inzaghi said (h/t Football Italia). “We were able to win the games and sort out our position in the table, so now we prepare for two difficult away fixtures. We played good football, though perhaps could’ve scored a few more goals today.”
There is little doubt that Juventus present a much sterner test for their new-found solidity, with the Bianconeri now sitting nine points clear at the top of the table pending Napoli’s Tuesday night clash with Bologna.
“We still need two wins and a draw to be mathematically certain of the Scudetto,” coach Massimiliano Allegri told reporters at his post-match press conference on Sunday. “We have to close out matches and be aware that the other title-chasers have an easier run-in than we do, given that we face two teams pushing for Europa League qualification in Lazio and Fiorentina.”
The Juve boss will also face the problem of replacing Claudio Marchisio, after a statement on the club’s official website announced the midfielder needed surgery on a “ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.”
His importance to the Bianconeri was discussed in this previous post, with Gabon international Mario Lemina the favourite to step in on Wednesday, and club officials insist the loss of Marchisio will not affect their progress this term.
“Juventus aim to keep winning in every competition,” director general Beppe Marotta told RAI Radio 1 (h/t Football Italia) earlier this week. “We don't intend to be extras in any show,” he added, and the Old Lady will intend to prove just that by despatching Lazio as quickly as possible.
Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Time: 7:45 p.m. BST/2:45 p.m. ET
Venue: Juventus Stadium, Turin
TV Info: BT Sport 2 (UK), beIN Sports 1 (USA)
Live Stream: BT Connect (UK)
Form Lines
Last five domestic results:
Juventus 1-0 Sassuolo
Lazio 2-0 Atalanta
Torino 1-4 Juventus
Milan 1-1 Lazio
Juventus 1-0 Empoli
Lazio 1-4 AS Roma
AC Milan 1-2 Juventus
Palermo 0-3 Lazio
Juventus 4-0 Palmero
Lazio 2-0 Empoli
Probable Lineups
Juventus (3-5-2): Gigi Buffon; Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini; Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sami Khedira, Mario Lemina, Paul Pogba, Alex Sandro; Mario Mandzukic, Paulo Dybala
Unavailable: Neto, Roberto Pereyra, Giorgio Chiellini, Martin Caceres and Claudio Marchisio (all injured), Alvaro Morata (suspended)
Lazio: (4-3-3): Federico Marchetti; Dusan Basta, Milan Bisevac, Santiago Gentiletti, Senad Lulic; Eddy Onazi, Lucas Biglia, Marco Parolo; Antonio Candreva, Miroslav Klose, Keita Balde Diao
Unavailable: Stefan de Vrij, Stefan Radu, Ricardo Kishna, Abdoulay Konko, Stefano Mauri, Edson Braafheid, Etrit Berisha (all injured)
Key Battle
Given that aforementioned injury to Marchisio, Juventus will rely even more heavily on Paul Pogba when this clash gets underway. After a subpar start to 2015/16, the France midfielder has improved exponentially of late, weighing in with four assists and four goals in his last five outings for the club.
He was excellent again during the win over Palermo, creating the opening goal for Sami Khedira before netting himself with a well-taken strike from a corner. The pass to his German team-mate was superb, while his own effort was just what Juve needed after growing nervous in the second half.
The task of slowing down Pogba’s impact on Wednesday evening will likely fall to Lazio’s Eddy Onazi, who also scored at the weekend to help his side win against Empoli. It marked the first Serie A goal of the season for the Nigeria international, who has averaged 2.8 tackles and 1.9 interceptions per game, according to figures from WhoScored.com.
Player to Watch
While the battle between Pogba and Onazi is likely to have a major influence on the final result, there is little doubt that Antonio Candreva remains the key figure for Lazio as they seek to improve their current league position.
Results have improved since Inzaghi took control, with Candreva also returning to form under the former Italy striker. Indeed, his penalty to help defeat Empoli on Sunday was his first goal since early February, when he netted in a 5-2 rout of Hellas Verona at the Stadio Olimpico.
Angry supporters confronted the team earlier this month after the 4-1 defeat to city rivals AS Roma, prompting Candreva to speak with them at the training ground. “You’re right, we’ve had a ridiculous season,” he said (h/t Football Italia) and the 29-year-old—who spent six months at Juventus back in 2010—will want to help keep Lazio’s positive momentum going after two consecutive victories.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Away win: 7-1
Home win: 100-227
Draw: 16-5