SS Lazio will host AC Milan in the Serie A 19th-tour match at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. The fixture will take place on Tuesday, January 24, beginning at 23:15 IST.

The Italian football season is now approaching its equator, and the situation with the leader has already become clear – for now, Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli are solid on top. However, things change very quickly and there is still plenty of time for each team to turn the season around. It is far from certain that the Neapolitans will retain their lead over their pursuers in a month’s time. 

The 19th round of the Serie A has an exciting match on its end to brighten up our weekdays. The mastodons of Italian football will meet in Rome – Lazio will take on defending champion AC Milan. Both sides are still far away from the title race, but the minimum objective – to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next year – is a must at the moment. Now, with such a dense situation in the standings (the difference between 2nd and 6th place is 4 points), the teams must cling to every chance to consolidate their position in the top 4. 

What can we expect this Tuesday night? Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

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Lazio News & Current Form: 

After the Serie A restart, Maurizio Sarri’s team has only two wins in four games. However, all of the Eagles’ opponents were within their strengths – each of them is outside the top 10. However, that didn’t stop the Romans from losing to US Lecce (1-2) and playing a draw against Empoli FC (2-2). Only US Sassuolo (2-0) and Bologna FC (1-0), both near the relegation zone, were victorious. The latter victory allowed the team to reach the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup.

Lazio clearly had their sights set on qualifying for the UCL at the end of the season – a task that Maurizio Sarri’s side are not up to yet. It was not the worst of starts, but the players clearly lacked stability – there were many games in the first round where the Romans missed out on the spot, allowing their opponents to take two goals away in the closing stages.

The other day, the Club from Rome was very lucky. A court awarded Juventus FC a 15-point penalty for financial fraud and the Turin side dropped to tenth place in Serie A. That allowed the Romans to leapfrog into sixth place and thus contend for the Champions League, which is three points away. But to consolidate their success, the Eagles need to perform consistently, and there are problems with that. The club Udinese Calcio  is six points behind, sitting in seventh place, so it is unlikely that Lazio will drop in the standings.

A positive thing for the Roman club is the attacking line. The team has scored in four games in a row, and especially pleasing was the duo of Mattia Zaccagni – Felipe Anderson, who mobilized after Immobile’s injury. The lads have scored in two games in a row. 

At the home stadium in Rome, the team plays quite well and has three wins in six appearances with only one defeat, by US Salernitana (1:3).

The former Napoli boss is well aware that to beat Milan on Tuesday, he will most likely need a better team performance from his charges, because last season the Romans lost all three meetings against the reigning champions.

The Eagles are expected to be without their captain Ciro Immobile due to a hip injury, and Mario Gila is definitely out due to a muscle problem. Andersen replaced Immobile in the “false nine” position last time out, and the former West Ham United FC winger will almost certainly do so again after scoring the decisive goal against Bologna.

Suddenly, the White and Sky Blues began to concede a lot. They conceded twice as many goals in those seven games as they did in the first 11 rounds of the Italian championship. And this is despite the fact that, for example, in the meeting with Juventus Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel made six saves.

Three players from the club from Rome – the ageless Ciro Immobile, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Mattia Zaccagni – are currently among the top 10 in Serie A in the goal+passes scheme.

AC Milan News & Current Form: 

Milan started the season fairly confidently and overall in the first round look quite decent, maintaining their chances of defending the title. However, at times the Rossoneri can make mistakes and show an unimpressive performance,and rivals, of course, take advantage of that. However, despite a number of problems, including staffing, Stefano Pioli’s team are in second place in the table and will not abandon their attempts to catch SSC Napoli, with whom the gap is as much as 12 points.

Defending their first league title in 11 years this season will be difficult. Napoli are demolishing all their opponents, stumbling only once in the first round. Milan finished 2-2 in their last two league games – against Roma and Lecce – and also dropped out of the Italian Cup, losing to Torino FC (0-1) in extra time. After the start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the team only managed to beat the humble US Salernitana (0-2).

Milan had just suffered a devastating defeat in Saudi Arabia. But, of course, it’s not the location that counts, not the fact that it was an Italian Super Cup match, but what’s more important, their rival  was Inter again. Last year, in the semi-finals of the Cup, the same defeat happened with the same score of 3-0 (in the return match, the first match ended without goals). But that didn’t stop Milan from becoming champions of Italy a little later, taking advantage of Inter’s misfire against Bologna and beating them by two points.

It will not be difficult to score against Milan, because the Rossoneri have problems with the defense: Fode Ballo-Toure, Alessandro Florenzi and goalkeeper Mike Maignan are injured. Pioli’s team has conceded six games in a row, and from opponents of different levels. The players have conceded 31 goals in 26 matches in all official tournaments. By comparison, they conceded the same number in 38 games in the last Serie A.

Milan will face Tottenham Hotspur FC in their first Champions League playoff game in nine years next month, and Pioli will be looking to move further ahead in the championship.

Among all, Rafael Leão can be highlighted separately. The gifted Portuguese has scored eight goals and given five assists in 17 Italian league games.

Coach’s comments on some players:

“Zlatan Ibrahimovic? His recovery is progressing well, he is working on the field, apart, and his knee is responding well. I can’t say when he will be ready, but he is always present in the locker room and spoke with his teammates after the Super Cup. Theo Hernandez and Olivier Giroud are fine, we also have physical data. That they may have suffered the backlash of the lost World Cup final fits, but I’m sure they will make their contribution.”

Lazio form guide: L-W-L-D-W-W

AC Milan form guide: L-W-D-L-D-L

SS Lazio vs AC Milan Head-To-Head Record: 

• July 4, 2020: Lazio 0-3 AC Milan (Serie A);
• December 23, 2020: AC Milan 3-2 Lazio (Serie A);
• April 26, 2021: Lazio 3-0 AC Milan (Serie A);
• September 12, 2021: AC Milan 2-0 Lazio (Serie A);
• February 9, 2022: AC Milan 4-0 Lazio (Italian Cup);
• April 24, 2022: Lazio 1-2 AC Milan (Serie A).

SS Lazio vs AC Milan Predicted XI:

Lazio possibile starting lineup (4-3-3): Provedel; Hysaj, Casale, Romagnoli, Marusic; Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi, Alberto; Pedro, Andersen, Zaccagni.

AC Milan possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Tatarusanu; Calabria, Kalulu, Tomori, Hernandez; Tonali, Bennacer; Saelemaekers, Diaz, Leao; Giroud.

Statistical preview of the match SS Lazio vs AC Milan:

• Lazio are unbeaten in 8 of their last 10 home games.
• Lazio conceded an average of 1.20 goals per game in their last 5 games.
• Lazio have scored in their last 3 games.
• Lazio are scoring an average of 1.20 goals per game in their last 5 games.
• Milan are winners in their last 3 head-to-head games.
• Milan have conceded an average of 1.80 goals per game in their last 5 games.
• Milan scored in their last 3 games against this opponent.
• Milan have scored in their last 4 games.
• Milan have conceded in their last 4 games.
• Milan are scoring an average of 1.20 goals per game in their last 5 games.
• Milan are unbeaten in their last 7 matches.
• Lazio’s First XI average age 29.2 yrs.
• Milan’s First XI average age 26.5 yrs.
• The total value of Lazio’s squad – $255 mln, Milan’s – $574 mln.

What has been said before the match:

Maurizio Sarri, coach of Lazio, said:

“First of all, don’t be superficial and have the awareness of facing the Italian champions. They have always put us in difficulty, we can’t think we won’t encounter difficulties. They [Milan] will be a more motivated team than usual. The match offers us a great opportunity, this must also be in our minds. We have to take advantage of that.”

He also commented on last season and the team’s losses to AC Milan:

“Hopefully we have grown a lot. In a single game we can compete with anyone. Last year they showed they were stronger, even last year in the third game when for an hour we were level.”

“These are important matches, they definitely leave some positive or negative marks. But the strength of a team is to look ahead.

“Milan are a very strong team, they signed strong youngsters. And then they were able to spend €28m on Charles De Ketelaere, which means theirs is a sustainable difficulty. They have made an extraordinary path, they have grown, the club has intervened to improve the team. They were in decline, in three years they have turned the team around, but it’s not just an economic issue.”

Milan’s coach Stefano Pioli is looking forward to the upcoming match:

“It is an important match, we want to get an important result, playing with quality and attention throughout the match and winning it. We are working on our principles, ideas and way of being on the field. We know very well what to do, and we know our values, we just have to put them back on the field. When you coach such a strong team, expectations are always high. It has been a difficult 10 days, but there are two possibilities: either we continue to feel sorry for ourselves, or we roll up our sleeves and react. We have chosen this second path.”

“Lazio is having a very good championship, they have 6 points more than last year. They have a very capable coach with a clear identity. They will miss Immobile, but Felipe Anderson is doing well as a central striker. They will be able to dribble well but also go deep. I expect a very attentive and very ready team, we are preparing the match well.”

“The approach is important, but continuity is even more important. We have to try to be more dominant than them. Letting them have the ball means risking more, we have to control the game and then be concrete when we manage to develop dangerous situations.”

SS Lazio vs AC Milan Prediction:

It is difficult to judge which team is doing worse. Lazio won twice in January, but their opponents were weak. Guys from Milan, meanwhile, are on a four-match winless streak and have now conceded six meetings in a row. Games against top clubs are a problem for Pioli after the 2022 World Cup break. The Rossoneri have lost to Inter and dropped points to Roma.

It is important that it is an away game for AC Milan — Lazio rarely lose points in Rome. In their last ten games, the Romans have lost just once at home, and the current form of the Devils gives all the Eagles’ supporters hope that their club will pick up at least a point. Their hopes are bolstered by the following facts: the Romans have kept a clean sheet in their last two games, and their defence is considered one of the best in Serie A — 15 conceded goals in 18 games (second best in the league). Milan, who have scored just two goals in their last three matches, will have a difficult time.

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Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Lazio will not lose – Yes.