Lazio aim to strengthen their push for a place in next season’s Champions League as they face AC Milan in Serie A on Sunday. With the hosts also battling for a place in Europe, a keenly contested battle is expected with little to separate both teams.
AC Milan head into this game following a 2-1 defeat at Bologna, their second straight Serie A loss after a similar result against Torino. These setbacks have extended their winless run to four in their last five outings across all competitions, a stretch that also saw them crash out of the Champions League.
Defensive vulnerabilities have been a key issue for AC Milan, who are without a clean sheet in four of their last five matches in all competitions. However, their record at San Siro remains solid with Sergio Conceicao’s men unbeaten in the last eight matches at San Siro, playing out five draws in that run.
Lazio travel to San Siro off the back of a 2-0 Coppa Italia quarter-final defeat to Inter Milan. However, they are unbeaten in their last four Serie A matches, playing out draws in the last two fixtures, including a 0-0 scoreline with Venezia last time out in Serie A.
Marco Baroni’s side have been sharp in attack, scoring in six of their last seven matches in all competitions. However, they remain unconvincing at the back having failed to keep a clean sheet in four of the last five fixtures in that run.
How the bookies view it: AC Milan with the edge
Despite recent struggles, AC Milan still have the upper hand among the bookies, with BoyleSports offering odds of 20/21 for a home win. Lazio are priced at 23/10 for a victory while a draw is set at odds of 12/5.
Head to head: Superior AC Milan
AC Milan have a 35-13 advantage with 26 draws from 74 previous matches against Lazio. However, both teams battled to a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture back in August.
Players to watch: Emerging Gimenez
Santiago Gimenez has three goals in his last six games, averaging one every two matches. The striker has hit the ground running at the San Siro and is priced 13/8 with BoyleSports to score anytime.
Boulaye Dia has seven Serie A goals and will lead the attack in Valentin Castellanos’ absence. Having found the net in the reverse fixture, he’s worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 11/4 with BoyleSports.
Probable line-ups
AC Milan will be without Kyle Walker, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Emerson Royal and Alessandro Florenzi who are all sidelined for this fixture. However, Rafeal Leao, Yunus Musah and Satiago Gimenez are all expected to retain their spots in the starting line-up.
Lazio also face key injury problems, with top scorer Castellanos unavailable while Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Elseid Hysaj and Alessio Romagnoli are all sidelined. Boulaye Dia is expected to start in attack alongside Mattia Zaccagni and Danish forward Gustav Isaksen.
AC Milan: Maignan, Jimenez, Thiaw, Pavlovic, Hernandez, Fofana, Reijnders, Musah, Felix, Leao, Gimenez
Lazio: Mandas, Marusic, Patric, Gila, Tavares, Guendouzi, Belahyane, Isaksen, Dia, Zaccagni, Noslin
AC Milan’s last three games have seen both teams score and a repeat is pegged at 8/13 with BoyleSports. Having served up over 3.5 goals in the reverse fixture, a similar outcome is valued at 2/1 with BoyleSports, who are also offering odds of 3/4 for over 2.5 goals.
This Serie A match between AC Milan and Lazio will be played on and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best AC Milan vs Lazio prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
