Will Lazio Qualify for A European Competition for the 2026-27 Season? | OneFootball

Lazio kicked off the 2025-26 Serie A season knowing that it would be concentrating wholly on domestic trophies. For the first time in nine years, there would be no European games of any kind, after finishing seventh last season and missing out on the money available from continental competition.

Much has been written about how not having the distraction – and extra games – of European football enabled Napoli to claim the scudetto last year, and many fans consoled themselves that this could be the case for Lazio too concerning a top four finish. The Biancocelesti hadn’t even performed too badly last year, so there was a chance that another good run, like in 2022-23, was possible.

Although the current league campaign has not been terrible, it has shown that any hope of winning another title should be forgotten immediately. Even with so many games to go, there will be none of the top betting sites making this Lazio team a favorite to win the league.

So, what can we expect from the rest of the campaign? Will there be an improvement on last year? And can the Laziali realistically look forward to European football again next season?

January Transfer Window

Lazio might not be able to compete with the wealthier clubs in Italy at the moment, but there is no doubt that the transfer embargo severely restricted the team’s chances of challenging for honors this season. Sarri felt duped and has publicly stated that he would have walked away from any other club.

There is still no firm news on whether the embargo will be lifted for the January transfer window. But Sarri and Angelo Fabiani will be planning as if the ban will be. If that is the case, there will also be departures, including possibly Nuno Tavares, Mattéo Guendouzi, and even Taty Castellanos.

Lorenzo Insigne has been the big name linked with a move to the Stadio Olimpico. He has rejected all other offers as he awaits the green light, and would add some much-needed firepower to the squad. It was something of a surprise when he left for Major League Soccer in 2022 – and he was hardly prolific for Toronto FC – but he is a proven player in Serie A and would provide a creative and leadership boost.

Maurizio Sarri’s Attitude

Maurizio Sarri is one of the most respected managers in world football, having enjoyed success in England with Chelsea, as well as winning Serie A with Juventus. His personality style of slightly grumpy, yet genial, is well-known, and his reaction to Lazio’s off-field issues will not have been unexpected.

Sarri seems not to have any problem with publicly criticizing the club and those in charge about the current predicament. What has been slightly more surprising is that he has downplayed the team’s chances in recent weeks. This could be seen as a way of deflecting pressure away from his charges, but it will be interesting to see how the players themselves react.

Old Foes

The main obstacle to Lazio achieving any kind of success this season will be the familiar picture of the other traditionally big clubs in Serie A being able to buy their way to success. Lazio has definitely been at a disadvantage this season, as the likes of Juventus, Napoli, Inter, Milan, Atalanta, and Roma have been able to boost their squads.

There are no big clubs falling off the pace this season – and that makes Lazio’s attempts to break through even more difficult.

New Rivals for Europe

A few years ago, Serie A had become a fairly predictable league. Juventus was winning the title, and the other Champions League places were taken by the other traditionally successful clubs.

Atalanta was the first “smaller” club to change things up, and now a whole host of clubs have followed La Dea through that door. This season, Bologna and newly-wealthy Como are both making their own cases to be involved in European football next season.

Whereas this new level of competitiveness is good for Italian football, it does make it even harder for Lazio to claim one of the top six or seven spots.

Coppa Italia Option

There is, of course, another way of qualifying for Europe. As much as the league will always be the priority, the Coppa Italia provides another avenue to continental competition and might be regarded as easier in many ways. A transfer embargoed club might find it easier to compete when it only needs to navigate four rounds of football, rather than the 38 games of a Serie A season.

Thanks to the seeding rule, Lazio enters the competition in the Round of 16 this season and will face Milan at home in December. Clubs participating in the various European competitions will not take the Coppa Italia as seriously, so this might be the best chance of Lazio claiming a Europa League league phase place for next season.

Hopes to Reality

It should be remembered that we are not even a third of the way through the season, and a lot will happen before the campaign finishes next May. If the Biancocelesti can recruit and strengthen the squad in January, the benefits – both psychologically and on the pitch – could make all the difference.

There had been some real improvement made in the games following the Derby della Capitale loss, and losing at San Siro to Inter is hardly a devastating blow. There is still a very good chance that Lazio could qualify for Europe this year – especially if the club rallies around as one.