Lazio can put pressure on the top two ahead of the World Cup break after a sensational victory over rivals Roma in a local derby last weekend with AC Milan dropping points in second on Tuesday ahead of Maurizio Sarri’s side welcoming Monza to Rome.
On the other hand to the good news about Milan dropping points, Napoli won again in midweek, meaning the club are not going to get into first before the break at the end of this week but can move into second if other results go their way.
It makes this game a must-win for Lazio, but a goals difference change or more dropped points for Milan likely need to happen for the club to get into the top two.
As of now, Sarri is three points behind Milan in the table, although a goals difference overhaul of six goals must happen in this game in order to get ahead of the champions, meaning a 7-0 is a must.
This is, of course, unlikely, so Lazio are merely hoping to win two in a row instead, after a tough loss to Salernitana two weeks ago in Rome saw them lose 3-1.
Nevertheless, with Napoli letting in some goals recently, Milan too, Lazio still sit with the second-best defensive record in Serie A with only eight goals conceded in 13 games. What’s more, after Felipe Anderson’s winner in a 1-0 victory over Roma last time out, the club have recorded yet another clean sheet.
In reality, however, they are unlikely to be in second come to the World Cup break on Sunday, but on the other hand, no doubt most Lazio fans would have taken third at this stage in the season at the start of the campaign.
As for the strugglers Monza, they have moved up into 15th in the past few weeks after a terrible start to life in Serie A for what is their first time ever in the top flight.
Monza did go on a losing run again throughout October and only just returned to the win column following on from a 4-1 loss to the champions Milan and a 2-1 loss to Bologna two weeks ago.
Nevertheless, Monza eased past Hellas Verona 2-0 last Sunday, making it their first win since beating Spezia by the same scoreline at the start of October.
Forebet predicts another win for Lazio and under 2.5 goals in the game