Lazio vs Udinese

Lazio and Udinese are set to trade tackles in an intriguing Coppa Italia last-16 tie at the Stadio Olimpico.

Lazio immediately bounced back from a 2-1 away loss to Inter Milan, making light work of the Serie A newcomers Salernitana last time out (3-0) to set themselves up nicely for this showdown. Despite putting together four consecutive competitive home matches without losing since falling to a 2-0 defeat to Juventus in mid-November, ‘I Biancocelesti’ have drawn three of those four fixtures (W1), even though they’ve bagged 3+ goals three times in the process. Another action-packed affair could be on the cards, given that both of their previous Serie A H2Hs in the nation’s capital have witnessed 4+ goals and both teams on the scoresheet. Indeed, their last encounter at the Stadio Olimpico yielded a ‘goal-friendly’ 4-4 draw back in early December.

As for Udinese, an underwhelming 2-0 defeat at Juventus over the weekend made it two reverses in a row, following a run of three competitive games without losing (W2, D1). Interestingly, they have conceded eight goals across those two failures, as many as they had in their previous seven competitive outings combined. Gabriele Cioffi’s men have encountered immense struggle on the road this season, having only won one of their last nine Serie A away games (D3, L5). A lack of defensive quality has seen Udinese concede 2+ goals five times during that nine-match sequence, with ‘I Bianconeri’ managing that unwanted feat in five of their last six competitive travels. Another leaky road trip hangs in the realm of possibility, with Udinese letting in over 1.5 goals in four of their previous five Serie A visits to the Stadio Olimpico.