There are several fixtures to look forward to in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night including the meeting between Lazio and Borussia Dortmund in Rome. You must go back to 2007 to find the last time Lazio featured in the group stages of the Champions League so it is a big night for the home team but they face a difficult test against the Bundesliga club.
Lazio coming to the match on the back of a disappointing 3-0 loss at Sampdoria. Having fallen behind in the 32nd minute, Lazio conceded a second goal just before half time and could not get back into the game. Sampdoria scored a third goal in the 74th minute to seal the points.
📸 #LaPrimaSquadraDellaCapitale pronta al nuovo debutto in #UCL#CMonEagles 🦅 pic.twitter.com/CdgwuyxgkV— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) October 19, 2020
📸 #LaPrimaSquadraDellaCapitale pronta al nuovo debutto in #UCL#CMonEagles 🦅 pic.twitter.com/CdgwuyxgkV
That was the third match in succession without a victory for Lazio. Prior to the defeat at Sampdoria, they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Inter Milan and lost 4-1 at home against Atalanta. Trends show Lazio have been struggling to win games this season and they have tasted victory only once in their 4 competitive matches, all of which have come in Serie A.
Conceding goals has been a problem for Lazio this season and they have conceded 8 goals in their last 3 matches. They also struggled to keep teams out in their last appearance in the Champions League group stages, failing to keep a single clean sheet in their 6 games.
Borussia Dortmund travel to the Italian capital having picked up a 1-0 victory away against Hoffenheim in the German Bundesliga on the weekend. The win sees them sitting in 3rd place in the Bundesliga, just 1 point off the leaders and it came on the back of a good 4-0 home win over Freiburg prior to the international break.
Borussia Dortmund have won 4 of their 6 competitive games this season. They have picked up victories over Borussia Monchengladbach, Freiburg, and Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga plus Duisburg in the DFB Pokal. The defeats have come at the hands of Augsburg in the Bundesliga and Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup.
Trends show Borussia Dortmund have lost by 2 or more goals in 3 of their last 6 Champions League games. They have a poor record of 3 consecutive away defeats at HT/FT in the Champions League but will believe they what it takes to turn that around in Rome.
Team news and Lazio will be without Bastos, Luiz Felipe, Manuel Lazzari, Silvio Proto, and Stefan Radu due to injury. They also have doubts over the fitness of Senad Lulic.
Borussia Dortmund travel without a long list of first team players including Dan-Axel Zagadou, Lukasz Piszczek, Manuel Akanji, Marcel Schmelzer, Nico Schulz, and Thorgan Hazard.
This could be an extremely tight game with both teams eager not to lose their opening match of the competition. However, Borussia Dortmund have the superior quality in the attacking third and could score the only goal of the game to take 3 points.