What: Serie A Week 19
Who: Lazio - Juventus
When: Sunday January 18 2008, 20:30:CET
Where: Satdio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
Aquilotti Flying High
Lazio welcome Juventus to the Stadio Olimpico for Sunday's big showdown clash and they will itching to cause an upset and help maintain their push for a European place. Claudio Lotito and Delio Rossi, like the players, have worked extremely hard this term and the Old Lady's visit will represent another tough test for the capital-city boys.
The Aquilotti are just three points off the Champions League places and they are well aware a win on Sunday could shoot them towards the all important fourth place. It hasn't always been easy, slowly but surely, the Lazio machine is grinding out results. Last week's enthralling 3-2 win over Reggina in Calabria was largely due to the work of Goran Pandev. The Macedonian's hat-trick in that match saw him equal Mauro Zarate's eight goal haul so far this season in the league. Both players will be fighting each other in the Capocanoniere's chart this term, but that emphasis on Sunday for Lazio will be to take any goal, no matter who scores it.
The Biancocelesti have recovered from their stuttering form. The 3-0 loss at home to Inter in week 15 has been forgotten. This heavy defeat was followed by a draw at Udinese and then two back-to-back wins against Palermo and Reggina respectively.
Their home form has not been perfect. Five wins, two draws and a couples of defeats have been the story of the season so far at the Olimpico. As well as this, the Romans have not managed to beat Juve at home in any of the last three meetings between the sides in Rome. In six games against the Old Lady, Lazio have lost five and drawn once. The records seem stacked against them, but confidence is high in Formello and there is real belief of shooting down the opposition on Sunday.
The Pandev-Rocchi-Zarate partnership has worked wonders in attack, but the problem for Rossi's side has been at the back. Lazio have the worst goals against record out of any of the top 10 teams in Serie A, heading into the game.
The coach will have prepared his players well this week and extra training sessions in defence have take priority. Juventus are one of the top-scoring teams in the league and the Biancocelesti will need to be on-guard if they are to continue flying high.
Onwards And Upwards For Juventus
The Bianconeri have been in stunning form. They have not looked back since their 1-0 loss to Inter in November, having won five on the bounce since then. An incredible 14 goals have been scored and only 4 conceded in those games, statistics which have 'Scudetto Form' written all over them. Juve will head to Rome full of confidence. Four points behind league leaders Inter; a lead that could be cut down to just one by the end of play on Sunday night. As well as this, Claudio Ranieri's men thumped Sicilian side Catania 3-0 in midweek to earn themselves a quarter final place in the Coppa Italia. Lazio have been warned.
Captain and icon Alessandro Del Piero is in stunning form. He was the hero last weekend against Siena with a magical free kick and he added the cherry on the cake with a sweet finish during the Old Lady's win on Wednesday night against Walter Zenga's side. The No.10 played magnificently alongside his heir Sebastian Giovinco and Ranieri could be convinced to start both players this weekend.
Amauri is also looking to add to his 11 goal tally in Serie A this term. The Brazilian sharpshooter missed out on hitting the net last time out and he will be polishing up on his finishing this week as he continues to chase Marco Di Vaio, Diego Milito and Alberto Gilardino in the top scorers chart.
Juve will fancy their chances against the Biancocelesti, but they will need to be on high alert though, especially at the back. Lazio's form does play into the Old Lady's hands as they have already lost to all of Italy's major teams this season. Milan beat the Biancocelesti 4-1, Inter hit them 3-0 and they lost the Roman derby 1-0. The Bianconeri will be hoping to make it a full-house of 'top four' defeats for the Romans.
Form Guide
Lazio
Jan 11: Reggina 2-3 Lazio (Serie A)
Dec 20: Lazio 1-0 Palermo (Serie A)
Dec 14: Udinese 3-3 Lazio (Serie A)
Dec 6: Lazio 0-3 Inter (Serie A)
Nov 30: Atalanta 2-0 Lazio (Serie A)
Juventus
Jan 11: Juventus 1-0 Siena (Serie A)
Dec 21: Atalanta 1-3 Juventus (Serie A)
Dec 14 Juventus 4-2 Milan (Serie A)
Dec 7: Lecce 1-2 Juventus (Serie A)
Nov 29 Juventus 4-0 Reggina (Serie A)
Team News
Lazio
Christian Manfredini is in doubt for the game against Juventus as he still hasn't been able to shake off a muscular problem. Sebastiano Siviglia has fully recovered from injury as has Stephan Lichtsteiner. Francelino Matuzalem is still working his way back to full fitness. There are no suspensions for the Biancocelesti this weekend and thus Rossi shouldn't have too many problems in fielding his strongest starting line up.
Probable starting XI 4-3-1-2: Carrizo, De Silvestri, Diakite, Rozenhal, Radu, Dabo, Ledesma, Meghni, Pandez, Zarate, Rocchi.
Juventus
The good news this week is that David Trezeguet has begun to train alongside his team-mates at Vinovo as his return from injury gathers momentum. However, he is still not 100 percent fit and thus an appearance against Lazio is unlikely.
The bad news is that Giorgio Chiellini and Mauro Camoranesi will miss the game. After missing out against Siena, Gianluigi Buffon played in the midweek clash with Catania in the Coppa and he is expected to resume Serie A duties in Rome.
Pavel Nedved and Claudio Marchisio will return after they were rested against the Sicilians. Jorge Andrade, Jonathan Zebina and Dario Knezevic are still on the injured list while Zdenek Grygera is suspended for the yellow card he picked up last week.
Probable starting XI 4-4-2: Buffon, Mellberg, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Molinaro, Marchionni, Marchisio, Sissoko, Nedved, Del Piero, Amauri.
Players To Watch
Lazio: Goran Pandev. The Macedonian is on fire. His hat-trick last week will have raised eyebrows at Juventus. His position just behind the front two allows him plenty of freedom to roam around. Look out for his deadly shooting and sneaky runs behind the defenders.
Juventus: Alessandro Del Piero. The club legend has a great habit of scoring against Lazio. Keep an eye out for his free kicks, too. He scored his sixth set-piece of the season last week and he will looking to make that seven against the Romans.
Prediction
Lazio will put up a fight, but the quality, depth and experience throughout Juve's side will see them through. As well as this, the Bianconeri know that any slip ups will dash all the hard work they have put in to be where they are. Ranieri's men are full of confidence and they will head to Rome to perform a professional job. It will be an exciting game with a few goals and controversies but the three points will be black and white.
Lazio 1-2 Juventus
Salvatore Landolina, Goal.com
Lazio welcome Juventus to the Stadio Olimpico for Sunday's big showdown clash and they will itching to cause an upset and help maintain their push for a European place. Claudio Lotito and Delio Rossi, like the players, have worked extremely hard this term and the Old Lady's visit will represent another tough test for the capital-city boys.
The Aquilotti are just three points off the Champions League places and they are well aware a win on Sunday could shoot them towards the all important fourth place. It hasn't always been easy, slowly but surely, the Lazio machine is grinding out results. Last week's enthralling 3-2 win over Reggina in Calabria was largely due to the work of Goran Pandev. The Macedonian's hat-trick in that match saw him equal Mauro Zarate's eight goal haul so far this season in the league. Both players will be fighting each other in the Capocanoniere's chart this term, but that emphasis on Sunday for Lazio will be to take any goal, no matter who scores it.
The Biancocelesti have recovered from their stuttering form. The 3-0 loss at home to Inter in week 15 has been forgotten. This heavy defeat was followed by a draw at Udinese and then two back-to-back wins against Palermo and Reggina respectively.
Their home form has not been perfect. Five wins, two draws and a couples of defeats have been the story of the season so far at the Olimpico. As well as this, the Romans have not managed to beat Juve at home in any of the last three meetings between the sides in Rome. In six games against the Old Lady, Lazio have lost five and drawn once. The records seem stacked against them, but confidence is high in Formello and there is real belief of shooting down the opposition on Sunday.
The Pandev-Rocchi-Zarate partnership has worked wonders in attack, but the problem for Rossi's side has been at the back. Lazio have the worst goals against record out of any of the top 10 teams in Serie A, heading into the game.
The coach will have prepared his players well this week and extra training sessions in defence have take priority. Juventus are one of the top-scoring teams in the league and the Biancocelesti will need to be on-guard if they are to continue flying high.
Onwards And Upwards For Juventus
The Bianconeri have been in stunning form. They have not looked back since their 1-0 loss to Inter in November, having won five on the bounce since then. An incredible 14 goals have been scored and only 4 conceded in those games, statistics which have 'Scudetto Form' written all over them. Juve will head to Rome full of confidence. Four points behind league leaders Inter; a lead that could be cut down to just one by the end of play on Sunday night. As well as this, Claudio Ranieri's men thumped Sicilian side Catania 3-0 in midweek to earn themselves a quarter final place in the Coppa Italia. Lazio have been warned.
Captain and icon Alessandro Del Piero is in stunning form. He was the hero last weekend against Siena with a magical free kick and he added the cherry on the cake with a sweet finish during the Old Lady's win on Wednesday night against Walter Zenga's side. The No.10 played magnificently alongside his heir Sebastian Giovinco and Ranieri could be convinced to start both players this weekend.
Amauri is also looking to add to his 11 goal tally in Serie A this term. The Brazilian sharpshooter missed out on hitting the net last time out and he will be polishing up on his finishing this week as he continues to chase Marco Di Vaio, Diego Milito and Alberto Gilardino in the top scorers chart.
Juve will fancy their chances against the Biancocelesti, but they will need to be on high alert though, especially at the back. Lazio's form does play into the Old Lady's hands as they have already lost to all of Italy's major teams this season. Milan beat the Biancocelesti 4-1, Inter hit them 3-0 and they lost the Roman derby 1-0. The Bianconeri will be hoping to make it a full-house of 'top four' defeats for the Romans.
Form Guide
Lazio
Jan 11: Reggina 2-3 Lazio (Serie A)
Dec 20: Lazio 1-0 Palermo (Serie A)
Dec 14: Udinese 3-3 Lazio (Serie A)
Dec 6: Lazio 0-3 Inter (Serie A)
Nov 30: Atalanta 2-0 Lazio (Serie A)
Juventus
Jan 11: Juventus 1-0 Siena (Serie A)
Dec 21: Atalanta 1-3 Juventus (Serie A)
Dec 14 Juventus 4-2 Milan (Serie A)
Dec 7: Lecce 1-2 Juventus (Serie A)
Nov 29 Juventus 4-0 Reggina (Serie A)
Team News
Lazio
Christian Manfredini is in doubt for the game against Juventus as he still hasn't been able to shake off a muscular problem. Sebastiano Siviglia has fully recovered from injury as has Stephan Lichtsteiner. Francelino Matuzalem is still working his way back to full fitness. There are no suspensions for the Biancocelesti this weekend and thus Rossi shouldn't have too many problems in fielding his strongest starting line up.
Probable starting XI 4-3-1-2: Carrizo, De Silvestri, Diakite, Rozenhal, Radu, Dabo, Ledesma, Meghni, Pandez, Zarate, Rocchi.
Juventus
The good news this week is that David Trezeguet has begun to train alongside his team-mates at Vinovo as his return from injury gathers momentum. However, he is still not 100 percent fit and thus an appearance against Lazio is unlikely.
The bad news is that Giorgio Chiellini and Mauro Camoranesi will miss the game. After missing out against Siena, Gianluigi Buffon played in the midweek clash with Catania in the Coppa and he is expected to resume Serie A duties in Rome.
Pavel Nedved and Claudio Marchisio will return after they were rested against the Sicilians. Jorge Andrade, Jonathan Zebina and Dario Knezevic are still on the injured list while Zdenek Grygera is suspended for the yellow card he picked up last week.
Probable starting XI 4-4-2: Buffon, Mellberg, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Molinaro, Marchionni, Marchisio, Sissoko, Nedved, Del Piero, Amauri.
Players To Watch
Lazio: Goran Pandev. The Macedonian is on fire. His hat-trick last week will have raised eyebrows at Juventus. His position just behind the front two allows him plenty of freedom to roam around. Look out for his deadly shooting and sneaky runs behind the defenders.
Juventus: Alessandro Del Piero. The club legend has a great habit of scoring against Lazio. Keep an eye out for his free kicks, too. He scored his sixth set-piece of the season last week and he will looking to make that seven against the Romans.
Prediction
Lazio will put up a fight, but the quality, depth and experience throughout Juve's side will see them through. As well as this, the Bianconeri know that any slip ups will dash all the hard work they have put in to be where they are. Ranieri's men are full of confidence and they will head to Rome to perform a professional job. It will be an exciting game with a few goals and controversies but the three points will be black and white.
Lazio 1-2 Juventus
Salvatore Landolina, Goal.com
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