One of six sides locked on seven points atop the Serie A standings, Lazio look to build on their weekend success with a win against Sampdoria on Wednesday.
While the capital club pulled off a major victory by beating Inter last Friday, Samp were smashed 4-0 by Salernitana and have just one point so far.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having taken four points from their first two fixtures of the 2022-23 campaign, Lazio met one of their main rivals for a top-four place last time out, and a grandstand finish ensured they came out on top against last season's Serie A runners-up.
Level at 1-1 heading into the final 15 minutes, Luis Alberto put the Biancocelesti ahead with an exquisite strike from outside the area, before veteran winger Pedro put the seal on a 3-1 win at a boisterous Stadio Olimpico.
As well as extending their positive home record against Inter - who they remain unbeaten against in Rome since the 2018-19 campaign - Lazio posted successive home wins at the start of a season for the first time in seven years.
Buoyed by such a result, Maurizio Sarri's men now attempt to follow that up by gaining maximum points on the road - something they managed to do just eight times from 19 attempts last term.
As a result, Lazio finished fifth; six points adrift of a Champions League qualifying spot. Nonetheless, they managed to book a return to the Europa League, in which they kick off their group stage campaign at home to Feyenoord next week.
Between now and then, though, Sarri will take his team to Liguria on Wednesday, before hosting former club Napoli back at the Olimpico.
© Reuters
Beaten 3-1 when they last welcomed Lazio to Marassi, at the end of last year, Sampdoria also went down 2-0 in the sides' meeting in Rome four months ago, as they stumbled to the end of a dismal season.
Their fortunes have hardly improved over the summer break, as only a gritty draw at home to Juventus last week sees the Blucerchiati with a single point on the board so far.
Following an opening day defeat to Atalanta, Marco Giampaolo's side fought hard to hold the Turin giants goalless, but their first away trip of the campaign went horribly wrong on Sunday evening.
Two goals down after only 16 minutes in Salerno, despite the best efforts of lone striker Francesco Caputo, Samp could not find a way through and ultimately slumped to a humbling 4-0 defeat.
Being thumped by a Salernitana side that only narrowly avoided relegation in May - while failing to score their first Serie A goal once again - already leaves the Ligurians in some disarray.
The Sampdoria board have responded to the team's sluggish start by moving to bring in Harry Winks on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, but refreshing an ageing front line must surely be their priority before the transfer window slides shut.
- L
- D
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- D
- D
- W
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
With a big week ahead, Maurizio Sarri could be tempted into tinkering with a winning side, and he must once again resolve a selection dilemma in midfield.
Having left Luis Alberto out on Friday, after scoring five goals and providing 10 assists last season, Matias Vecino started instead - but the roles could be reversed in Genoa. Another substitute to play a decisive role in Lazio's latest win was Pedro, who is pushing to replace Felipe Anderson in the visitors' front three.
Unless rested, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is assured of a start after posting his 13th assist since the beginning of last season, while summer signing Nicolo Casale hopes to usurp Patric in central defence; Francesco Acerbi stays out in the cold, as he aims to complete a switch to Inter before the transfer window shuts.
After running themselves ragged keeping Juventus at bay, Sampdoria effectively failed to show up on Sunday, so several changes could be afoot for their midweek fixture.
Marco Giampaolo is unlikely to stray far from his preferred 4-1-4-1 formation - particularly up against such strong opposition - but Manolo Gabbiadini may be ready for his first Serie A start since returning from injury and evergreen Fabio Quagliarella is also a contender to replace Francesco Caputo up front.
The hosts have an almost clean bill of health heading into their third home game, though Andrea Conti is still struggling with an injury and may miss out again.
Sampdoria possible starting lineup:
Audero; Bereszynski, Ferrari, Colley, Augello; Vieira; Leris, Rincon, Djuricic, Sabiri; Caputo
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provedel; Hysaj, Romagnoli, Casale, Marusic; Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi, Alberto; Anderson, Immobile, Zaccagni
We say: Sampdoria 1-3 Lazio
Though Samp will surely get off the mark in terms of goals at the fourth time of asking, their ebbing confidence suggests this is a bad time to welcome in-form Lazio to Marassi. They will defend deep, but may have no answer to the visitors' increasingly fluent 'Sarri-ball'.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
