We have a full round of fixtures to look forward to in the Italian Serie A on the weekend including the meeting between Lazio and Milan at the Stadio Olimpico. The hosts begin the weekend in 6th place on 56 points while the visitors are top of the table on 71 points.
Lazio come into the game on the back of a 1-1 draw at home against Torino last weekend. It was a match they were favourites to win as they continue their push for a European place but having fallen behind in the 56th minute, Lazio required a late equaliser to take a point.
Despite not being the result they wanted, the draw last week means Lazio are now undefeated in 5 of their 6 most recent fixtures. All the games have come in Serie A and there have been wins at home against Venezia and Sassuolo plus away to Cagliari and Genoa.
Home form in the league shows Lazio have lost only 1 of their last 9 league matches at the Stadio Olimpico.
In fact, trends show Lazio haven't lost in 27 of their last 29 home games in Serie A. They have managed to find the back of the net in each of their last 5 home Serie A matches but have kept only 3 clean sheets in their last 10 on home soil.
Milan make the trip to the Stadio Olimpico having suffered a hugely disappointing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday night. Inter Milan opened the scoring after only 4 minutes and doubled their advantage shortly before halftime.
Inter Milan finished the job with 8 minutes remaining on the clock and the defeat came as a blow to Milan, who were chasing the double.
The loss in the Coppa Italia was the first defeat in 14 games in all competitions for Milan. Their form in Serie A shows they have remained undefeated in their 11 most recent fixtures. There have been home victories over Sampdoria, Empoli, and Genoa plus away wins at Inter Milan, Napoli, and Cagliari.
Trends show Milan are undefeated in their last 9 away league matches and have been good defensively. They have kept a clean sheet in each of their last 3 away Serie A games.
Team news and Lazio have just one injury concern with Patric unavailable due to a muscle problem.
Milan have four players unavailable for this match, with Alessio Romagnoli, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alessandro Florenzi, and Simon Kjær on the treatment table.
Milan cannot afford to drop any points in their pursuit of the title and this is going to be a tough game. We expect to see Lazio find the back of the net but Milan have been in good form in Serie A and could score the goals required to take maximum points and remain top of the table.