Juventus vs Lazio 23/12/19

23 December 2019

The King Saud University Stadium will host the Italian Super Cup clash between Juventus and Lazio, as the Rome-based outfit look to post their second consecutive win over the Old Lady for the first time since 2017.

Winners in their last three competitive matches, the reigning Serie A champions seem to have managed to overcome a slight crisis that saw them fail to win twice in a row (D1, L1). Juventus’ recent upturn in form might help them settle a score with Lazio after the Biancocelesti brushed them aside with a comfortable 3-1 home win a fortnight ago. It was the Bianconeri’s only reverse in their last four competitive H2Hs with Lazio (W3, L1), and it was also their first competitive match since a 4-3 home win over Napoli in August that saw Juventus concede three goals. Still, Maurizio Sarri’s fragile defense has failed to keep a clean sheet in four of their previous five outings in all competitions, allowing over 1.5 match goals twice in that sequence. Juventus’ main weapon in this showdown will be a devastating attack that has found the net in 20 consecutive competitive games, scoring 2+ match goals on 15 of those occasions.

As for Lazio, they will look to replicate the same performance that helped them beat Juventus 3-2 in the Italian Super Cup final two years ago, which was one of their three successes in their last six competitive H2Hs with Juventus (W3, L3). The Rome-based giants are enjoying a purple patch, having picked up nine triumphs in their last 11 games across all competitions (W9, L2). All but one of those victories have seen the Biancocelesti score two or more goals, but only three have witnessed them keep a blank sheet. Slow starts in the recent period could trouble Simone Inzaghi, as his players conceded the opening goal in three successive matches ahead of this fixture, turning two of those games around though (W2, L1). Notably, 14 of their last 16 competitive matches have produced over 2.5 goals, with 11 of them seeing both teams score.