Having both won their opening game of the season, Lazio and Atalanta will be aiming to maintain their winning start to the 2020/21 Serie A campaign when the two sides clash at Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.
Lazio kicked off their season with a comfortable 2-0 win away at Cagliari. Manuel Lazzari opened the scoring after just four minutes, before Ciro Immobile capped of the victory with 15 minutes remaining.
The Eagles look destined to challenge for the title last season, but they fell away after the restart and ending up finishing fourth – five points behind Juventus.
If Lazio are to challenge the country’s top club again this term, Immobile must continue to score at a rapid rate. The 30-year-old netted 36 goals in 37 league games last season, and he already has one under his belt this year.
On the other hand, Atalanta finished the previous campaign in strong fashion to finish third – level with Lazio on 78 points but ahead of the Eagles due to their superior goal difference.
La Dea also started the new season in impressive form, seeing off Torino 4-2 on the opening weekend. Goals from Papu Gomez, Luis Muriel, Hans Hateboer and Martin de Roon did the damage.
Indeed, Atalanta will also have ambitions of challenging the title this season. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side have recorded back-to-back third-place finishes and have only finished outsite of the top four once in the past four seasons.
Head-to-head: Lazio and Atalanta played out two high-scoring thrillers last season, with Atalanta going unbeaten against the Eagles last term.
The two sides drew 3-3 at Stadio Olimpico, before Atalanta claimed a 3-2 victory on home soil. It goes without saying that goals are expected again this time around.
Looking at the bigger picture, Atalanta have only lost one of their previous seven meetings with Lazio in all competitions.
Team news: Long-term absentees Senad Lulic, Silvio Proto, and Vedat Muriqi all remain unavailable for Lazio, while Luiz Felipe, Denis Vavro, and Jordan Lukaku are also doubts.
Atalanta will be without injured quartet Aleksey Miranchuk, Pierluigi Gollini, Cristiano Piccini, and Marco Tumminello.
Atalanta have gained a reputation for producing high-scoring games, and their recent meetings with Lazio are no exception.
There will almost certainly be goals scored at both ends of the pitch on Wednesday, but it could be difficult for either side to find a winner.
Forebet predicts that Lazio and Atalanta will play out a thrilling high-scoring draw, with both sides scoring over 1.5 goal