The first fixture of the Serie A weekend takes place on Saturday afternoon as Lazio welcome Atalanta to the Stadio Olimpico.
Lazio begin the weekend in 6th place in the league with 11 points from their 7 games played. Atalanta are three places above their opponents in Serie A and have 16 points to their name. A win could see them move level with leaders Juventus.
Lazio come into this match on the back of a 2-2 draw at Bologna last time out. Lazio twice fell behind in the game but managed to score an equaliser on both occasions to take a share of the points. That result means Lazio have lost only 1 of their last 5 matches in all competitions and that defeat was 1-0 away to Inter Milan in Serie A.
Trends show Lazio have won 2 of their last 5 Serie A games, with both wins coming at home over Parma and Genoa. Lazio are undefeated in their last 4 home matches, winning 2 and drawing 2, with the draws coming against Bologna last season and Roma this season.
Lazio have lost only 3 of their last 17 home Serie A matches and have won by 2 or more goals in 5 of their last 10 on home soil. They have been entertaining to watch and have seen over 2.5 goals in 10 on their last 13 league games.
Atalanta travel to the capital having seen off Lecce 3-1 at home prior to the international break. This was a match Atalanta were expected to win and although they have been struggling in the Champions League, they have been performing well in Serie A this season.
In fact, Atalanta have lost only one of their 7 Serie A matches this season and that came at home on the second weekend of the campaign. It was a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Torino but since then, Atalanta have gone on a 5 match unbeaten run. They have beaten Genoa, Roma and Sassuolo away plus Lecce at home. The draw came at home against Fiorentina.
Trends show Atalanta like playing away from home and they are undefeated in their 10 away Serie A matches. They have won each of their last 4 league games on the road and both teams have scored in 6 of the last 7.
Team news and Lazio will be without midfielder Lucas Leiva who is serving a suspension. They also have doubts over the fitness of Silvio Proto and Ricardo Kishna.
Atalanta are without striker Duvan Zapata who has a thigh injury and is not expected to return to action until November. He is the only player likely to miss out for the away side.
This is a game in which both teams will expect to score goals and we should see each of them find the back of the net. However, Atlanta enjoy playing away games and could come leave Rome with a narrow victory.