Serie A Preview: Milan vs Lazio – Team News, Lineups & Prediction | OneFootball

Stadio San Siro forms the backdrop for a mammoth Serie A showdown between old foes Milan and Lazio. The home side can spend the night at the summit with a win here, yet the visitors head into proceedings amid a mini-revival.

Milan pulled off a scrappy 1-0 win over arch-rivals Inter in last weekend’s Derby della Madonnina. Christian Pulisic scored the second-half winner, yet Massimiliano Allegri’s team needed Mike Maignan’s heroics to extend their unbeaten streak against the Nerazzurri to six games in all competitions.

Indeed, the French goalkeeper thwarted Hakan Calhanoglu’s spot-kick in the 74th minute, helping Milan maintain their formidable domestic form. Since slumping to an embarrassing 2-1 home defeat to newly promoted Cremonese on the opening Serie A weekend, the Rossoneri have gone unbeaten in 12 consecutive games across the league and Coppa Italia.

However, the 19-time Italian champions entered this round two points adrift of pacesetters Roma, highlighting the importance of beating the Giallorossi’s eternal rivals. Despite Lazio’s underwhelming start to the season (W1, L3), Maurizio Sarri’s men have clawed their way back into the European picture.

A comfortable 2-0 home triumph over perennial strugglers Lecce last time out lifted Lazio to eight in the standings. Yet, after Como’s identical win over Sassuolo last night, the Biancocelesti lag six points behind the coveted sixth spot. Therefore, the margin for error is thin, with the capital-based outfit bidding to defy their dreadful away record this season.

Match Preview

Milan

Allegri has rebuilt Milan’s home fortress after being beaten by Cremonese on his return to San Siro. Milan have since gone five consecutive home league games without losing (W4, D1), including a narrow 1-0 victory over Roma in their last such fixture.

Defensive solidity has been the cornerstone of Milan’s resurrection under Allegri. For context, they kept an eye-catching seven clean sheets during their ongoing 12-game unbeaten run. Against this backdrop, Milan have failed to shut Lazio out in their last two top-flight meetings (D1, L1).

Still, Milan have gone from strength to strength against the division’s best teams this season, picking up a league-high 16 points against the pre-round top ten sides (W5, D1). Another win looks likely, considering the Rossoneri had won five successive home clashes against Lazio before a 2-1 defeat in this corresponding fixture last term.

Lazio

That triumph puts Lazio on the brink of history as they could win back-to-back away encounters against Milan for the very first time. That could be easier said than done, given that Sarri’s charges have massively underperformed on the road this season.

Barring a 3-0 rout of bottom-half Genoa in late September, Lazio have won none of their five remaining away league matches (D2, L3), including a dismal 2-0 loss at this venue to Inter last time out. Once again, Lazio’s attacking shortcomings came to the fore in that game.

The visitors have failed to get on the scoresheet in five of their six Serie A road matches since Sarri’s return to the helm. With that in mind, breaking the deadlock could be decisive for Lazio’s hopes of reaching an unprecedented feat in the club’s history.

They’ve won all five league outings when opening the scoring this season. However, the Biancocelesti are staring down the barrel of a four-game scoreless run in Serie A for the first time since 2012.

Team News

Despite scoring an all-important winner in the 183rd edition of the iconic Derby della Madonnina, Pulisic came out of the game bruised. Still, the USMNT forward should be fit for tonight’s clash, leaving out-of-sorts striker Santiago Gimenez as the only notable absentee in the Milan camp.

On the other hand, Lazio will be without several first-team stars, including Matteo Cancellieri, Danilo Cataldi, Nicolo Rovella, Samuel Gigot, and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru. Though Taty Castellanos resumed full training in midweek, the Argentine center-forward should start on the bench.

Milan vs Lazio Potential Starting Lineups

Milan (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Leao, Nkunku.

Lazio (4-3-3): Provedel; Marusic, Gila, Romagnoli, Pellegrini; Guendouzi, Vecino, Basic; Isaksen, Dia, Zaccagni.

Milan vs Lazio Prediction

With none of the last nine meetings between Milan and Lazio ending all square, a draw seems off the table. The hosts may have blown hot and cold against ‘lesser’ teams, but they’ve been formidable against Serie A’s elite.

As such, we expect the Rossoneri to scoop up all three points and, at least temporarily, leapfrog Roma at the top of the tree.