Juventus vs Lazio Preview – Prediction, team news & line-ups | OneFootball

Stadio Olimpico is the venue as Juventus and Lazio go head-to-head in a heavyweight Coppa Italia quarter-final tie on Thursday night.

Last season’s beaten finalists Juventus dispatched Monza 2-1 in the previous round to reach the Coppa Italia quarter-finals for the 16th season on the trot.

However, Monza avenged their cup elimination with a comfortable 2-0 Serie A victory in Turin at the weekend, pouring more misery on the Bianconeri’s disastrous league season.

Juventus were viable top-four candidates until recently before a 15-point deduction demoted them to mid-table, significantly curtailing their chances of securing next season’s Champions League football.

Massimiliano Allegri’s men will try to find some comfort in the Coppa Italia, the competition they’ve won a record 14 times, most recently in the 2020/21 season.

Despite being held to a frustrating 1-1 home league draw to Fiorentina on Sunday, Lazio could throw a spanner in the works as they come into proceedings unbeaten in five competitive matches (W3, D2).

Maurizio Sarri’s side claimed a narrow 1-0 home triumph over Bologna in the last Coppa Italia tie to reach the quarter-finals for the 12th time in 13 seasons.

With talismanic striker Ciro Immobile back to the fold from a thigh injury, the Biancocelesti will fancy their chances in Turin, where their last win dates back to 2017.

Match Preview

Juventus

Before a disheartening defeat to Monza, Juventus had enjoyed a decent five-match unbeaten run at home in all competitions (W4, D1), netting at least two goals four times in that span.

Allegri’s backline, which looked almost impenetrable until not long ago, has conceded 2+ goals in three of Juve’s last four competitive outings, casting doubt on the home side’s bid to qualify for the semi-finals for the fourth season running.

However, the recent H2H stakes massively favour Juventus, as they’ve not lost any of their last six meetings with Lazio in all competitions (W4, D2), including a thumping 3-0 victory in October 2022.

Lazio

Lazio proved their capacity to challenge Serie A big guns earlier in January with an overwhelming 4-0 home win over reigning champions AC Milan.

But problems with inconsistent performances outside the Stadio Olimpico have seen the Biancocelesti alternate between winning and losing on their last six competitive travels (W3, L3).

Since five of those six matches (won/lost) witnessed the winner keep a clean sheet, scoring the opening goal could be of paramount importance in Turin.

Team News

Juventus are still without long-serving defender Leonardo Bonucci, but Paul Pogba could make his first appearance for the Bianconeri after making the bench against Monza.

As for Lazio, Stefan Radu is the only high-profile absentee.

Juventus vs Lazio Potential Line-ups

Juventus (3-5-1-1): Mattia Perin; Danilo, Gleison Bremer, Alex Sandro; Mattia De Sciglio, Nicolo Fagioli, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Filip Kostic; Angel Di Maria; Dusan Vlahovic.

Lazio (4-3-3): Ivan Provedel; Manuel Lazzari, Patric, Alessio Romagnoli, Adam Marusic; Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Danilo Cataldi, Matias Vecino; Pedro, Felipe Anderson, Mattia Zaccagni.

Juventus vs Lazio Prediction

Juventus are unbeaten in their last 18 home matches in the Coppa Italia and we can picture the Bianconeri putting their off-field frustrations behind with a keenly-contested win here.

Juventus 2-1 Lazio