After securing progress in Europe last time out, Lazio return to their pursuit of a top-four finish in Serie A, when struggling Sampdoria arrive in Rome on Monday.
The teams convene at Stadio Olimpico fighting very different battles at opposite ends of the table, as Samp have yet to win in 2023 while their hosts remain in the mix for Champions League qualification.
Match preview
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When Lazio's Patric received a red card within 15 minutes of the first leg of their Europa Conference League playoff tie with CFR Cluj, it seemed that they could soon exit a second cup competition in short succession. However, after Ciro Immobile scored the decisive goal at Stadio Olimpico last week, there was still all to play for on Thursday.
Immobile, who recently returned from another injury layoff, had extended his scoring streak by bagging both goals in a subsequent 2-0 win over Salernitana, but was unable to wrap up qualification for the last 16 in style as Lazio were forced to hold tight in Romania and see out a 1-0 aggregate win.
Maurizio Sarri's side may have failed to break through despite their dominance, but nonetheless did enough to earn a tie against AZ Alkmaar in the next round; making up somewhat for their recent Coppa Italia exit.
A league loss to Atalanta earlier this month had also seen them slip to sixth in the Serie A standings, and Lazio have proved consistently inconsistent in recent times, having never repeated the same result throughout their last eight home matches - a run featuring three wins, three draws and two losses.
The Aquile are nonetheless, behind only Barcelona and Juventus in terms of clean sheets kept across the top five European leagues in 2022-23; only twice in their history have they fared better at this stage of a Serie A season - both previous occurrences coming back in the 1970s.
Now faced by a Sampdoria side which has been inept in front of goal, Lazio have won 10 of their last 13 league matches against the Ligurians, following a 1-1 draw in August's reverse fixture. Indeed, they are also unbeaten in their last 16 home games against them.
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Sampdoria's season of strife continues to see them swirl ever closer to the Serie A trapdoor, and with games starting to run out there are precious few signs they can avoid following city rivals Genoa down to the second tier.
Having gained only two points from their last seven top-flight fixtures, and with just 11 tallied overall, they have posted the club's worst-ever total at this point of a Serie A campaign. Furthermore, since the switch to three points per win during the mid-90s, every previous team with two wins or fewer after 23 games were ultimately relegated.
Financial trouble also looms large over a one-time Calcio powerhouse, and even bleaker times may lie in wait for the Blucerchiati's long-suffering fans - particularly as their team simply cannot find the net with any regularity.
Since former Lazio star Dejan Stankovic took charge earlier this season, Sampdoria have registered just seven goals in 15 Serie A matches, with only Schalke scoring fewer throughout the top five European leagues during that time.
Perhaps the only flicker of light in a long and dark tunnel leading to Monday night's mismatch at the Olimpico is that Samp's two league victories so far this term have both come away from home.
Team News
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After Lazio's midweek engagement in Europe, Maurizio Sarri may be able to welcome back several important players to aid any plans for squad rotation on Monday.
Not only has Mattia Zaccagni returned from suspension and a subsequent illness, and should therefore join Ciro Immobile and Felipe Anderson in the hosts' attacking trident, Pedro has trained wearing a mask to protect his broken nose and is also in contention.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is back from the same sickness bug as Zaccagni, while Alessio Romagnoli could make the bench following injury. Patric is available again, too, after missing out on Thursday due to a European ban.
Having taken his tally for an injury-afflicted campaign to a modest nine league goals last week, Immobile now meets a club he has recorded more Serie A strikes against than any other (15 in 17 games). He also aims to become only the second player in Europe's top five leagues to reach double figures for the same club in each of the last seven seasons - Tottenham's Harry Kane is the other.
An erstwhile teammate of Kane at Spurs, Harry Winks has become a fixture in Sampdoria's midfield since the winter break. After injury put a lengthy delay on his debut, the England international has played every minute of Samp's last five matches and will make six successive starts for the first time since January 2019.
Meanwhile, Ignacio Pussetto and Koray Gunter will be absent again, but Jeison Murillo, Filip Djuricic and Abdelhamid Sabiri are all expected to overcome fitness doubts to be involved at some stage.
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provedel; Marusic, Casale, Patric, Hysaj; Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi, Alberto; Anderson, Immobile, Zaccagni
Sampdoria possible starting lineup:
Audero; Oikonomou, Nuytinck, Amione; Leris, Winks, Rincon, Cuisance, Augello; Gabbiadini, Lammers
We say: Lazio 2-0 Sampdoria
Lazio have conceded the joint-fewest goals in the first half of games across Europe's top five leagues (four, level with Barcelona), while Samp have scored just five in the first half all season - no team has fewer.
Logic dictates, then, that the home side should comfortably keep their visitors at bay before one of many attacking options strikes at the other end: cue more misery for Sampdoria.
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Jonathan O'Shea
