After suffering their fifth loss of the season, Lazio will try to respond by cutting their deficit to Fiorentina in the Serie A standings when the teams meet on Monday evening.
While the capital club return to Stadio Olimpico following a Champions League defeat in Rotterdam, La Viola bounced back from losing at home to Empoli by strolling to victory in the Europa Conference League.
Match preview
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Although they remain in the mix to qualify for the Champions League's knockout phase, after an ill-tempered encounter at De Kuip left Lazio with four points from three Group E games there is plenty of work still remaining.
Maurizio Sarri's men put on an insipid display against Dutch champions Feyenoord on Wednesday night and only had Pedro's late spot-kick consolation to show for their efforts in a 3-1 defeat.
As the Biancocelesti had previously produced dramatic stoppage-time strikes to clinch a point against Atletico Madrid and then see off Celtic in Glasgow, they can still dream of making the last 16, but before next month's reverse fixture with Feyenoord they must aim to find some consistency in Serie A.
After a sluggish start to their league campaign, which brought just one win from six games, last week's 2-0 win at Sassuolo took Lazio into the top half of the table, but they still trail behind in the top-four race.
Last year's second-place finish was built on a series of clean sheets, but Sarri's side have conceded over a goal per game in Serie A this season despite fielding a similar back four in front of goalkeeper Ivan Provedel.
While Lazio remain vulnerable on the road, they have recently won both of their two most recent league fixtures at Stadio Olimpico - as many home wins as in the previous six. Having also come out on top in six of their last eight meetings with Fiorentina, they may feel confident of continuing in that vein on Monday.
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Such has been Fiorentina's inferiority to their hosts in recent years, they have won none of their last seven Serie A matches against Lazio in Rome, losing on five occasions.
However, they arrive in the capital this time with a four-point lead over the Biancocelesti, and Vincenzo Italiano's men have marked themselves out as top-four contenders with a bright start to the 2023-24 campaign. In fact, Fiorentina have won eight of their last 13 league matches stretching back to the end of last season.
Although defeat to Tuscan rivals Empoli in last week's Derby dell'Arno ended the Viola's run of scoring in five consecutive league fixtures - during which they had averaged 2.4 goals per game - they produced an immediate response by hammering Cukaricki in the Europa Conference League a few days later.
Having been beaten 2-0 at home by an Empoli side that had lost seven of their first eight league matches - and also drawn both of their opening two Group F games 2-2 - Italiano demanded better from his troops on Thursday evening.
Against opponents reduced to 10 men before the interval, Fiorentina ran riot, with summer signing Lucas Beltran helping himself to a confidence-boosting brace in a 6-0 win at Stadio Franchi.
Next month's reverse fixture in Serbia comes amid a tough schedule between now and the end of November, as after tackling Lazio, the Viola must host Juventus and visit Milan at San Siro - a run of games that could define whether last season's Conference League finalists are truly a force to be reckoned with.
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Despite a demanding itinerary at home and abroad, Lazio's only injury absentee on Monday should be first-choice defender Nicolo Casale, whose thigh problem could rule him out until after the next international break.
With Friday's trip to Bologna in mind, Maurizio Sarri may well opt for some squad rotation, so Manuel Lazzari is in line for promotion to the first XI, and Taty Castellanos could be called upon to deputise for captain Ciro Immobile up front.
Spanish midfielder Luis Alberto will hope to start against one of his favourite opponents, though, having been directly involved in eight goals from 12 Serie A matches versus Fiorentina in the past - four of his own and four assists.
After rotating his resources in Europe, Viola boss Vincenzo Italiano is expected to make more changes four days on, with senior players Nikola Milenkovic, Giacomo Bonaventura and Nico Gonzalez returning from the start. The latter has five goals from his first eight league appearances this term and also scored against Lazio at the Olimpico back in January.
Italiano has an issue to resolve at right-back, as Italy Under-21 starlet Michael Kayode sustained an ankle injury against Cukaricki and faces a fortnight on the sidelines.
Already without Dodo for the long term, Italiano may ask either left-footed Fabiano Parisi or teenager Pietro Comuzzo to fill in. Yerry Mina and Gaetano Castrovilli are also unavailable to the ex-Spezia coach.
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provedel; Lazzari, Patric, Romagnoli, Marusic; Guendouzi, Rovella, Alberto; Anderson, Castellanos, Zaccagni
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Terracciano; Comuzzo, Milenkovic, Martinez Quarta, Biraghi; Duncan, Arthur; Gonzalez, Bonaventura, Brekalo; Beltran
We say: Lazio 2-1 Fiorentina
Home advantage could make all the difference in this contest between two well-matched sides, as Lazio generally thrive on Roman soil while Fiorentina tend to wither. The Viola should score at least once at the Olimpico, given their hosts' defensive woes, but that may not prove enough for a point.
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Jonathan O'Shea
