LAZIO v AC MILAN: OPPONENT REVIEW

After the home draw with Atalanta, AC Milan are back in action in another top-of-the-table clash that kicks off matchday 27 in Serie A. For the Rossoneri, it is imperative they get back to winning ways, after being pegged back in the last two league outings, and maintain their lead from the chasing Champions League pack - seven points ahead of fifth-placed Atalanta. Despite winning only four of their last ten away trips across the European and domestic campaigns (3D, 3L), the Diavolo have, though, scored at least two goals in all of those games and could go one step further for the first time since between June and September 2020 (13 on that occasion).

On the opposite front, Lazio lost their last home match against Bologna and will be looking to avoid a second consecutive one on home soil, which has yet to happen in Serie A during Maurizio Sarri's tenure. As in the reverse fixture, won 2-0 by the Rossoneri, both sides will meet ahead of a European midweek game, with the Biancocelesti earning only seven points in as many games so far this season (2W, 1D, 4L). The side from the capital will also take motivation from recent setbacks against top-end sides, having lost each of their last three games played against teams in the top three at the start of the matchday week.

SET-PIECES AND THE AERIAL GAME
Very solid in the first 45 minutes, Lazio are one of the strongest sides to go in at half-time without conceding in Serie A this season (18 times, like Juventus, with only Inter and Torino better - both 22). Furthermore, Maurizio Sarri's men defend set-pieces very well, having conceded just 18% of their goals so far (5/24); only Juventus has an lower percentage (16% - 3/19). But where the Rossoneri could threaten is in one-on-one situations. AC Milan are one of three sides to have carried out the most number of successful dribbles in this season's league campaign (228 along with Napoli, and only behind Udinese's 249), while no other team has conceded as many as Lazio (230).

Instead, from an attacking point of view, AC Milan could look to squeeze the play by playing the ball up long, knowing that Lazio have won the lowest number of aerial duels (266) out of 580 challenges in this season's Serie A, as well as being the only team to have scored less than three headed goals (only one). Attention must be paid, though, thanks to the home side scoring goals across all departments: in fact, only Atalanta (65%: 31/48) can boast a better goalscoring percentage than Lazio (59%: 19/32) for the number of goals scored by defenders and midfielders in the current campaign. It is a potential warning sign for AC Milan who, - excluding penalties - have let in five of their last nine league goals to players from this area of the pitch.

LUIS ALBERTO AND IMMOBILE: BIANCOCELESTI HUNTING FOR RECORDS
Speaking of the many options at Maurizio Sarri's disposal, man of the moment for Lazio is most certainly a renewed Luis Alberto, who has been involved in his side's last three goals - two assists against Torino and a goal versus Fiorentina. The Spaniard will be looking for a second consecutive finish in Serie A 2023/24 after doing so in September against Napoli and Juventus. He has lacked consistency at times this season, but is a player who is second in terms of goals since his debut season in the competition among midfielders currently in Serie A (46, behind only Mario Pasalic, with 47).

Like his teammate, also Ciro Immobile has the chance to reach another personal milestone as he looks for his 250th goal involvement in Serie A. With 200 goals and 49 assists to his name in the league, the Biancocelesti goalscorer was a determining factor in recent clashes against AC Milan at the Olimpico, taking part in seven goals (five finishes and two assists) in the last four clashes, and scoring in the last two. A special mention also to a former Rossoneri player, Alessio Romagnoli, who clocked up 197 appearances in Serie A for AC Milan between the 2015/16 and 2021/22 seasons, winning the 2016 Supercoppa Italiana and a Scudetto as captain in his last year with the Diavolo.

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