Lazio welcomes Cagliari at Stadio Olimpico on July 23, 2020, in Round 35 of the Italian Serie A.
Lazio is currently in 4th place in the Serie A standings with a record of 21-6-7 and a total of 69 points. They are 11 points behind leaders Juventus, 5 points behind second-place Atalanta, and three off third-place Inter. This team has lost their chance to win the title after going winless in five games since the restart of the Serie A season.
Cagliari is currently in 11th place in the Serie A standings with a record of 10-12-12 and a total of 42 points this season. They have lost just twice in their last eight matches but they have four draws and two losses in their last six assignments. They are far from the relegation zone but are also far from the Europa League qualification.
Let’s take a look at how these two teams match-up:
Lazio
With four defeats in those five games, including a loss to Juventus, Lazio can no longer catch up with Juventus but the good news for them is that fifth place Roma is also 11 points below them so they are in no danger of falling out of the final Champions League position. Getting to second place is also a possibility so I expect Lazio to come out and give this game utmost importance.
In their last Serie A match against the defending champions Juventus, Lazio controlled 46% of ball possession and made 86% of the correct passes. They had three shots on goal and earned seven corner kicks. However, Lazio struggled with creating scoring chances and they were slow. The final score was 2-1 in favor of Juventus.
Ciro Immobile leads Lazio with a total of 30 goals scored this season. Felipe Caicedo has found the back of the net nine times while Joaquin Correa has netted seven times this season. Luis Alberto leads the team with 14 assists while also scoring six goals. Immobile has eight assists and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has four assists and five goals scored.
Lazio ranks 4th in Serie A with a total of 69 goals scored this season. They are ranked third in defense with a total of 37 goals conceded this term. Lazio is tied for 6th in passing with a total of 40 assists this season and their goal difference of +32 is 4th overall in the league.
Lazio Possible Starting Lineup:
Strakosha; Bastos, Felipe, Acerbi; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi, Parolo, Anderson; Caicedo, Immobile
Cagliari
It was a good thing that Cagliari had a good start to the season. Given the way they have struggled to pick up wins in their last eight assignments, they would have gone to the bottom with their current form. Cagliari has not tasted victory since June 27th but despite that, they can still finish in the top half of the table as they are just a point behind 10th place, Bologna.
During their latest Serie A assignment against Sassuolo, Cagliari was dominated as they only got 22% of ball possession and made just 69% of the correct passes. They only got one shot on goal and didn’t earn a single corner kick in the entire match. Despite their poor showing and despite going one man down in the second half, the match ended in a 1-1 tie which was a big break for Cagliari.
Joao Pedro leads the team with a total of 18 goals scored this season while also contributing 4 assists. Giovanni Simeone has found the back of the net 10 times while Radja Nainggolan has netted six times. Nainggolan also leads the team with a total of seven assists this term while Luca Pellegrini has five assists as well.
Cagliari ranks 9th in goal scoring with a total of 49 goals scored this season. They are tied for 11th with a total of 50 goals conceded this term. Cagliari is also ranked 9th in passing with a total of 31 assists on the year. Their goal difference of -1 is ranked 10th overall in Italy.
Cagliari Possible Starting Lineup:
Cragno; Ceppitelli, Pisacane, Klavan; Nandez, Farago, Rog, Birsa, Mattiello; Simeone, Pedro
Who Wins?
Luis Alberto is one of many Lazio players who are out due to injury and Inzaghi was unable to fill his substitutes’ bench in their last match played. Although Patric is back for contention for Lazio, Inzaghi may be forced to field the same starting unit he used in their last match.
Former Liverpool player Ragnar Klavan will likely return for the Cagliari defense and start in the back three. Likewise, Giovanni Simeone is pushing for a slot in the final three. If the Argentine returns to the lineup, Gaston Pereiro will be moved to the bench. Meanwhile, Carboni’s dismissal against Sassuolo will lead Zenga to make one change in their trip to Rome.
Lazio is 3-2-5 SU in their last 10 assignments. They are 2-0-2 in their last four assignments at home. Cagliari is 2-4-4 SU in their last 10 matches played. They are 1-2-2 SU in their last five away games played. Lazio has eight straight wins against Cagliari at home but they head to this match with bad form.
This slump has to end somewhere and because Cagliari has been hit by injuries, this is the perfect opportunity for Lazio to finally come up with the win. I was tempted with the plus money on the draw but since Ciro Immobile scored in their last match, I think that he’s going to have another good game here. Immobile should be the difference-maker for Lazio.
Prediction: : Lazio -223
Alternate Bet
Lazio is 10-5-1 ATS in 16 home games played this season. They have outscored Cagliari by an aggregate score of 25-9 in their last 10 meetings. Cagliari has scored only two goals in their last six matches. Despite their current struggles Lazio is the 4th best scoring team in the Serie A and after playing so poorly since the restart of the season, they are due for a big game and with Cagliari in the bottom half of the league in defense, I expect a great offensive output from Lazio as they end their drought. Prediction: Lazio -1 (-174) at BetOnline as of 7/23/20
Prediction: Over 2.5 goals (-121).