San Siro plays host to a mammoth Serie A match-up between Milan and Lazio on Sunday and it’s time to preview the game and take a look at the expected lineups. Both sides have been nothing short of exceptional at the beginning of the season, which promises plenty of fireworks tomorrow.
It’s now a certainty that at least one of the five Serie A sides to record a 100% two-game start to the season will leave the group.
Milan vs Lazio Head-to-Head
Milan have drawn more games against Lazio than against any other club in Serie A (W67 D59 L30), but they’ve scored more top-flight goals only versus Fiorentina (253) than against the Biancocelesti (247).
Despite Lazio’s household status in Serie A, they have picked up just one victory in their last 31 league trips to San Siro (D11, L19), courtesy of a 2-1 win in November 2019. Indeed, since 1990, Milan have suffered fewer home top-flight losses only to Torino (zero).
Since the beginning of 2017/18, Milan have won all but one of their four home Serie A encounters against Lazio (L1), prevailing by a single-goal margin on each occasion the two lineups met.
Milan Form Preview
Milan have opened the 2021/22 Serie A campaign in the same way they started the last one, showing a runner-up finish in 2020/21 was no fluke. The Rossoneri will be looking to pick up where they left off before the international break and maintain their hopes of dethroning fierce rivals Inter this term.
After eking out a narrow 1-0 win away against Sampdoria, Stefano Pioli’s men brushed Cagliari aside with an overwhelming 4-1 home victory last time out. Delivering action from the onset, the hosts have registered all six Serie A goals scored/conceded this season in the first half of play, with the opening goal on each occasion coming within 15 minutes.
Taking last season into account, Milan have kept six clean sheets in their last seven Serie A fixtures, facing the joint-fewest shots on target this season (five). Curiously, though, the Rossoneri conceded fewer goals on the road (17) than at home (24) in 2020/21, something they will be aiming to improve upon this time around.
With Franck Kessié and Zlatan Ibrahimovic returning to the fold after recovering from injuries, Pioili’s hopes of leading Milan to a perfect three-game start in back-to-back Serie A seasons for the first time in the club’s history have received a massive boost.
Though Ibra might not start the game, the home fans can fall back on Olivier Giroud’s impressive San Siro debut. The 34-year-old striker netted a first-half brace against Cagliari to unveil himself to the home crowd.
Lazio Form Preview
Mauricio Sarri has painted his managerial start at Lazio with vivid colors, as the Biancocelesti welcomed the international break atop the Serie A standings. The visitors’ two-game winning start to the new season represents a turnaround on a three-match goal drought (D1, L2) from the tail-end of last season.
Despite conceding first within five minutes in both Serie A outings under Sarri, Lazio cruised to landslide victories, completing a comeback before half-time on each occasion. After a 3-1 win away to promoted Empoli on the opening weekend, the Rome-based outfit put Spezia to the sword last time out, claiming a comprehensive 6-1 triumph at the Stadio Olimpico.
If Ciro Immobile and co get on the scoresheet here, it will take Lazio’s tally to ten goals this season. They have never scored more than nine after the opening three rounds of Serie A fixtures so far. The Italy international will be under the spotlight after netting 13 goals against Milan in the top-flight.
Incidentally, Immobile’s first-ever Serie A hat-trick came against the Rossoneri in September 2017, with the 31-year-old scoring in each of his last three league matches against this opposition.
Milan vs Lazio Predicted Lineups
Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Theo Hernandez, Fikayo Tomori, Simon Kjaer, Davide Calabria; Sandro Tonali, Franck Kessie; Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao, Alexis Saelemaekers; Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Lazio (4-3-3): Pepe Reina; Elseid Hysaj, Francesco Acerbi, Luiz Felipe, Adam Marusic; Lucas Leiva, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Luis Alberto; Felipe Anderson, Pedro, Ciro Immobile.