Sitting side by side on 10 points in the Serie A standings, Lazio and Empoli will meet at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.
While the hosts won last week and then enjoyed a resounding success in Europe, their Tuscan counterparts are still unbeaten this season and could now set a new club record.
Match preview
© Imago
Since Boulaye Dia's brace helped Lazio to a 3-0 victory in their opening Europa League fixture, the Biancocelesti have stepped up a gear, scoring seven times in the process of winning their last two matches.
Following an inconsistent start to their domestic campaign, last Sunday's 3-2 defeat of in-form Torino - where Matteo Guendouzi started the scoring and Dia was on target again - took the Rome club up to seventh place in the table.
New boss Marco Baroni then led Lazio to wins in both of their opening two European contests of a season for the first time in seven years, as his side beat Nice 4-1 on Thursday evening.
Taty Castellanos scored twice to continue the Biancocelesti's excellent home record in UEFA competition, and they seem to be gathering momentum just before international football intervenes.
Including the tail end of last term, Lazio have also won six of their last eight home matches in Serie A - drawing the others - while averaging two goals per game.
That form is ominous for their latest visitors, as Empoli have never beaten them at Stadio Olimpico in a top-flight fixture, losing 10 of 14 previous attempts.
© Imago
Indeed, Empoli last beat the Biancocelesti in a league game almost nine years ago, but they may feel their time to end that drought has arrived, following an excellent start to the 2024-25 season.
The Azzurri entered last week's Derby dell'Arno on the back of consecutive wins in Serie A and the Coppa Italia, and a close-fought clash with Tuscan rivals Fiorentina ultimately ended 0-0, with only one shot on target between them.
Not only has a tally of 10 points equalled Empoli's previous best at this stage of a top-flight campaign, but stretching back to last season - when they just survived relegation by a whisker - they are also unbeaten in 10 league and cup games.
Avoiding defeat this week would result in their first-ever nine-match undefeated streak in Serie A, and head coach Roberto D'Aversa will be hoping his defence can continue to stand firm against Lazio's attack.
Empoli have kept a clean sheet in their last three league matches - versus Juventus, Cagliari and Fiorentina - while only Juve and Napoli have conceded fewer shots on target so far this season.
Team News
© Imago
Marco Baroni made a number of changes to his team in midweek, but regular starters such as Manuel Lazzari, Nicolo Rovella, captain Mattia Zacagni and Boulaye Dia should all return on Sunday.
Since signing from Salernitana, Dia has scored in both of his first two league games at Stadio Olimpico, and he could now follow in the footsteps of past stars Juan Sebastian Veron and Marco Di Vaio. They are the only two players to have scored in each of their first three home appearances for Lazio over the past 30 years.
As Tijjani Noslin is back after serving a UEFA suspension, and French centre-back Samuel Gigot has recovered from injury, the hosts should have a full squad available.
Meanwhile, Empoli will have Jacopo Fazzini and Youssef Maleh back in the fold, and both can contend for a place in support of central striker Lorenzo Colombo.
The latter is set to hold off competition from Pietro Pellegri, who has scored three times against Lazio in the past, including his only top-flight brace to date. That was back in 2017, when he became the youngest player ever to score more than once in a Serie A match, aged just 16 years and 184 days.
In the treatment room, Samuele Perisan, Szymon Zurkowski and Tyronne Ebuehi are all expected to return after the international break, while Saba Sazonov is sidelined until next year.
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provedel; Lazzari, Gila, Romagnoli, Tavares; Rovella, Guendouzi; Isaksen, Dia, Zaccagni; Castellanos
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Vasquez; Goglichidze, Ismajli, Viti; Gyasi, Henderson, Grassi, Pezzella; Fazzini, Esposito; Colombo
We say: Lazio 1-0 Empoli
With a rejuvenated attack this season, Lazio have both scored and conceded goals in all of their six Serie A matches, so Empoli's clean-sheet streak should end on Sunday.
The hosts have built up a head of steam over the past couple of weeks, and only post-Europa League fatigue could stop them from taking care of business.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
