Can Lazio end Juventus’ Serie A dominance?

There’s a fluidity about their attack, with constant movement and rotation on the pitch, making it so hard for the opposition to stop.

Immobile and Correa usually drop deeper to pick up the ball, allowing Luis Alberto or even Sergej Milinković-Savić to fill in the space, and create pockets for the attackers to move into elsewhere.

The addition of flying wing-backs adds another dimension, providing accurate crosses into the box and forcing the opponent’s defenders to make quick decisions. This has often resulted in mistakes, including fouls in the box. Lazio have scored 11 of their awarded penalties, with Immobile scoring 10.

Improvements in key areas

At the start of the season, few would have called that Lazio would have the best defensive record in the league at this stage of the campaign.

Yet, with only 23 goals conceded in 26 games, it’s the experience and consistency of Francesco Acerbi, Ştefan Radu and Luiz Felipe that have given Lazio a back line they can depend on.

Former player and current manager, Simone Inzaghi, has been in charge since 2016. In that time, he’s implemented a 3-5-1-1/3-5-2 system that his side have perfected this season

Felipe may not have the experience and tactical intelligence of Radu and Acerbi, but he’s got the pace and strength that they lack.

On top of that, wing-backs Manuel Lazzari and Senad Lulić have found the perfect balance of attack and defence during transitions, forming a solid line of five when under pressure, before bombing forward to add width in attack.

Inzaghi has managed to find the perfect balance in the centre of the park too, with a midfield three of Milinković-Savić, Alberto and Lucas Leiva.

Former Liverpool man Leiva has been given a new lease of life in Italy, with a slower-paced game allowing his footballing brain, filled with defensive knowhow, to make him one of the best defensive midfielders in the league.

His partnership with Milinković-Savić, one of the most highly-coveted midfielders in world football now, provides a further defensive barrier when under threat, and allows Alberto to push further forward on his own to enhance attacking options.

Key Fixtures

Should both sides match each other’s results throughout the course of the run in, there’s one fixture that stands out as a potential title decider.

In late July, Juventus host Lazio at the Allianz Stadium, in what could prove to be a winner takes all contest. In December, it was I Biancocelesti who came out on top, beating a 10-man Juventus side 3-1.

Matches against Atalanta and AC Milan await both sides too, while Juventus are due to face AS Roma in their final match of the campaign. At the same time, a trip to Naples to take on Napoli stands before Lazio and their quest for a first title in 20 years.

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