Lazio vs S.P.A.L
Lazio’s 11-match win streak may have been halted as honours were even in the most recent Derby della Capitale. But the fact of the matter is that they’re still yet to be defeated in Serie A for this calendar year.
This time, they will enter the easier part of their schedule by first facing S.P.A.L at the Stadio Olimpico as they continue to make their run at the Serie A title.
The race to the top is still teetering to the edge as Juventus hold 51 points while Inter Milan have 48 and Lazio have 46. The Bianconeri could have broken their lead wide open last Monday, but they suffered a tough defeat versus Napoli.
On the other hand, S.P.A.L slipped into the relegation zone after suffering three defeats in their last five fixtures, and things won’t get any easier for them.
The Serie A 2020 clearly favour the home team in this one, so SBOTOP fans are probably more interested on finding out how many goals are to be scored here for sure.
Talking Points
Lazio loading up
The Biancocelesti are simply invincible, aren’t they?
Lazio continue their unbeaten run which was built up since October last year – which also includes a Supercoppa Italiana trophy after beating Juventus.
They did, however, endure a miniscule setback when they didn’t pull out a win in the Derby della Capitale Part 2.
Edin Dzeko managed to score the first goal via a header for AS Roma, but Lazio made it up for it later through a fortuitous bounce off of a comical error by Roma’s goalkeeper.
Witnessing Ciro Immobile gone scoreless was a rare occurrence for Lazio especially since he leads the league in goals made this season with 23. His efforts have helped Lazio become the second-most potent offence with 47 netted goals.
To put it in perspective, Cristiano Ronaldo is trailing behind him at second with 17 while the next one is Romelu Lukaku with 14.
Helping him are the likes of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Joaquin Correa, who are forces to be reckoned with thanks to their unique mix of veteran smarts and physical gifts.
Even with a loaded lineup, Lazio have been aggressive in the transfer market. According to our Serie A 2020 updates, they have officially entered the Olivier Giroud sweepstakes as they offered him a provisional contract that would last to more than three years.
Giroud was left hanging to dry in Chelsea since team boss Frank Lampard prioritised giving more opportunities to the likes of Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic. You can’t blame both parties for moving on as it is well within their respective interests.
Adding the Frenchman makes sense for Simone Inzaghi, since Giroud is a very capable forward that will add another dimension to their formidable attack. Inzaghi can put him alongside Immobile at the front or even bring him off the bench depending on whether he sees fit.
S.P.A.L can’t seem to pull through
It’s hard to expect anything from the Spallini, as they’re really known as a cellar-dweller in Serie A.
They have been shot shy for the most part, as they’ve only tallied a league-low of 15 goals so far this term. Besides Andrea Petagna – who has contributed eight goals and one assist – team boss Leonardo Semplici simply doesn’t have any more options.
Federico Di Francesco has been acquired on loan from Sassuolo to lighten the burden on Petagna’s shoulders few months ago. However, he’s only chipped in two goals as of this writing.
At the same time, their backline has been porous by conceding 33 goals already.
They did, however, manage to score some high profile wins amidst their atrocious run. The Spallini shockingly outscored Torino and Atalanta in identical 2-1 tallies after being down by 1-0 to end the first half.
Those wins were followed up by losses against Verona, Fiorentina, Bologna, and AC Milan in the Round of 16 of the Coppa Italia.
Survival will be the name of the game for S.P.A.L. moving forward, and they have to do something now to have their heads stay above water.
History
Lazio have been undefeated in their last nine home games against S.P.A.L. (W4, D5). The last time the Spallini defeated Biancocelesti away from home dates way back to March 1957.
The home team is yet to be defeated since October 2019 (W12, D3).
