Aston Villa vs Lazio

A tasty-looking summer friendly at the Bescot Stadium pits Aston Villa against Lazio for the first time.

Fresh off securing European football for the first time in over a decade, Aston Villa have purchased three top-class players, Moussa Diaby, Pau Torres, and Youri Tielemans, to increase the team’s quality ahead of a long season. However, the new pieces have yet to adapt to the new surroundings, with Unai Emery’s team drawing three of their four pre-season matches, except for a 2-0 win over domestic rivals Fulham. The ‘Lions’ have played out identical 3-3 draws against Newcastle United and Brentford this summer, with both games seeing each side score at least two first-half goals and the opening goal come within the first ten minutes of play. But barring the abovementioned victory against Fulham, Villa have failed to keep a clean sheet in eight of their last nine outings.

On the other hand, nominal visitors Lazio are well behind Villa in their preparations following an unexpected runner-up finish in the 2022/23 Serie A campaign. Maurizio Sarri’s men have been relentless across their opening two summer friendlies, dismantling Slovenian sides Primorje and Bravo by a combined score of 7-0. Both matches saw ‘I Biancocelesti’ open the scoring inside the opening half an hour and add to their tally beyond halftime. Those victories form part of Lazio’s decent-looking five-game winning streak, with four of those five wins seeing the Rome-based outfit keep a clean sheet. Equally impressive at the other side of the pitch, Sarri’s lads have netted 2+ goals in their last four games.