Lazio vs AC Milan preview, match details, team news, line-ups and prediction

AC Milan travel to the Italian capital, Rome to face Lazio in the opening game of Serie A matchday 27 at the Stadio Olimpico.

Lazio have been hugely inconsistent this season as they currently sit in 8th place in the Italian top-flight division.

Their best run of results came after their loss to Inter Milan in the League in December. Since then, Lazio went on five successive winning streaks across all competitions, recording victories against Empoli, Frosinone, Udinese, AS Roma in the Coppa Italia and Lecce.

Another loss to Inter in the Coppa Italia saw a downturn of form as the Biancocelesti only won two domestic games against Cagliari and Torino, recording one draw against Napoli while losing to Atalanta, Bologna and Fiorentina.

In their last Serie A match, Lazio’s head coach, Maurizio Sarri blamed the “murderous run of fixtures” as the cause of the team’s physical and mental state, as they were beaten 2:1 by Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

La Viola put up a remarkable vintage performance, completely dominating Lazio in the game and were only unlucky not to take the lead after hitting the woodwork successive times.

Fiorentina started the game in dominant form, forcing three corners from Lazio just two minutes into the game. Later on, Nico Gonzalez was played through on goal but an incredible save from Lazio’s goalkeeper, Ivan Provedel fingertipped the ball to the post, with Giacomo Bonaventura horrifically missing the follow-up, thanks to a goal-line clearance from Nicolò Casale.

Vincenzo Italiano’s side kept piling pressure on Lazio with wave after wave of attack. On loan AS Roma forward, Andrea Belotti connected with Cristiano Biraghi’s corner but his effort only hit the upright. Biraghi nearly scored a complete “golazo” when his corner kick came off the post.

Against the run of play, Lazio surprisingly took the lead in their first real chance and only shot on target in the match. Matteo Guendouzi found Luis Alberto who got in behind to thump home the opener in the 45th minute of the game as Lazio ended the first half with the lead.

Fiorentina came out in the second half guns-blazing, pilling barrages of attack on the Biancocelesti as Gonzalez and Luca Ranieri came close to scoring. La Viola finally found the breakthrough in the 61st minute of the game when Belotti’s deflected cross found an unmarked Michael Kayode at the back post whose effort to thump home the equaliser.

Belotti was a menace to Lazio’s defence and proved decisive once again when he was tripped inside the penalty box to win a penalty for Fiorentina.

Gonzalez stepped up to ensure the continuation of the regular occurrence in the game by hitting the post.  In the 69th minute of the game, Bonaventura was in the right place to pounce home the rebound from Lucas Beltrán’s strike to give Fiorentina the lead.

Lazio began to come out of their shelves but couldn’t do enough to test Pietro Terracciano in goal.  They now face a Milan side who would be eager to close the gap on second-placed Juventus to solidify their Champions League aspiration ahead of next season.

The Rossoneri on the other hand have been inconsistent in recent weeks, failing to win any of their last three matches across all competitions. They played out a 1:1 draw with Atalanta last time out as Rafael Leao’s sensational strike was cancelled out by Teun Koopmeiner’s spot kick.

Although Stefano Pioli’s side dominated proceedings, they couldn’t restore their lead. Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all came close to finding the winner but superb saves from Marco Carnesecchi as well as a solid defensive display ensured Milan could only salvage a draw in a game where they entirely dominated.

Victory against Lazio would not only see them follow Juventus closely on 57 points but would also keep the gap with fourth-placed Bologna at arm’s length. Therefore, it’s no surprise that this game is expected to be sold-out but fans can still buy AC Milan tickets through trusted resellers online.

Match stats and head-to-head 

• Milan have been victorious in five of the last six clashes between these two sides while also keeping a clean sheet in four of those clashes.

• The last three results between these two teams have seen goals scored by only one team, with the other team firing blanks.

• Notably, Milan have won the last two matches against Lazio without conceding a goal.

• Lazio have a remarkable record at the Stadio Olimpico, maintaining an unbeaten streak in nine of their last eleven matches in Serie A

• So far this season, the Biancocelesti have lost only two of their last seventeen matches at the Stadio Olimpico across all competitions this season.

• Milan have a dominant record against Lazio, maintaining an unbeaten streak in 40 of their last 47 matches.

• The Rossoneri have scored at least two goals in eight consecutive matches away from home in the Serie A this season

• Milan have found the back of the net in fifteen consecutive matches in Serie A this season

Team News 

Lazio will be without centre-back, who is out of contention following a sprained ankle injury. Nicolo Rovella is also expected to be out with a groin injury.

Mattia Zaccagni made a return from injury in the loss against Fiorentina and it remains to be seen if Sarri would put him straight into the starting lineup against Milan.

For Milan, Luca Jovic remains suspended for the clash following his red card against AC Monza.

Davide Calabria and and Pierre Kalulu made their returns to the matchday squad against Atalanta last weekend while Fikayo Tomori is expected to make his return to the squad on Friday night.

Tommaso Pobega remains out of contention with a hamstring injury while Mattia Caldara is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Predicted starting line-up 

Lazio predicted starting lineup:

Provedel, Lazzari, Casale, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Guendouzi, Cataldi, Luis Alberto; Isaksen, Immobile, Felipe Anderson

AC Milan predicted starting lineup:

Maignan; Florenzi, Thiaw, Gabbia, Hernandez; Reijnders, Bennacer, Loftus-Cheek; Pulisic, Giroud, Rafael Leao

Prediction

Both Milan and Lazio are not in their best form and have been hugely inconsistent but Milan have been the better team.

The final result of this clash could either be a repetition of history where the Rossoneri have completely dominated this fixture or a continuation of a regular occurrence where Lazio have been the dominant side in their home fixtures this season.

It is hard to predict who would come up victorious, but Milan are the side with a pressing need of victory to secure the top four and are anticipated to dominate proceedings and could secure the win if they take their chances against Lazio.