Venezia vs Lazio

Stadio Pierluigi Penzo is the venue as Venezia and Lazio go head-to-head in their first Serie A H2H since March 2002.

Venezia bounced back after conceding a first-minute opener at Sampdoria last time out to eke out a 1-1 draw, their second identical Serie A stalemate in a row. Another parity here would see Venezia draw three consecutive top-flight matches for the first time since 1962. Despite last hosting Lazio for a Serie A match-up in 2001, it’s worth noting that they are unbeaten in their last five top-flight H2Hs on home turf (W3, D2). However, the hosts go into proceedings amid a rough patch, having won none of their last five Serie A fixtures (D2, L3) since a 1-0 triumph at Bologna in mid-November. What’s more, since coming from behind to beat Lazio’s fierce rivals Roma 3-2 in November, ‘I Lagunari’ have gone winless in their subsequent three home league outings (D1, L2), conceding an average of 2.33 goals per game in that period.

On the other hand, Lazio brushed a lowly Genoa aside with a comfortable 3-1 home victory last time out to bounce back from a heartbreaking 2-1 away loss at Sassuolo and keep their faint hopes of clutching a top-four finish alive. Worryingly, though, ‘I Biancocelesti’ have only won two of their nine Serie A away matches this season (D2, L5), conceding a whopping 20 goals in the process. The last time they shipped more goals at this stage of a top-flight season was in 1983/84. Curiously, Maurizio Sarri’s men have scored and conceded precisely 14 Serie A goals in seven league outings since the start of November, averaging 4.0 goals per match! Delivering action from the get-go, they’ve recorded a clear majority (73%) of their Serie A away goals scored so far in the first half of play (8/11).