Lazio vs Bologna prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2024-02-17 11:30.
Lazio needed to make a statement after some bruising encounters with fellow top-six hopefuls Napoli (D 0-0 home) and Atalanta (L 3-1 away), and they did so by dispatching relegation candidates Cagliari 3-1. They followed up on that Wednesday night by defeating six-time European champions Bayern Munich 1-0 in the Champions League, but they must quickly regroup and prepare to host an in-form Bologna who have already beaten them once this season (1-0 in November).
The home side are lurking outside Serie A’s six European places, making these upcoming matches against Bologna, Fiorentina and AC Milan in the next month vital to their European charge. Ominously though, Lazio have lost five of their eight league games (W2, D1) at all venues against clubs starting this round above them in the standings, including the aforementioned previous H2H.
More recently, Bologna made the most of a trilogy of home games to register their second three-game winning streak of this Serie A season, scoring ten times in that run while conceding only twice. It’s little wonder then that they have captured the imagination of the nation and revived speculation about their potential first UEFA appearance in more than 20 years.
Their formidable home record of ten wins from 13 games saw them begin this weekend in fifth after a 2-0 midweek success over Fiorentina, yet despite their lofty position, Bologna still remain one of Serie A’s poorer travellers (W1, D7, L3). But after securing draws in each of their three away games against the league’s three highest-ranked clubs, they could be confident of getting another positive result here.
Players to watch: Look out for Ciro Immobile after half-time, as his last five competitive goals all came in the second half, including in Lazio’s last two league games. Similarly influential as the game goes on, Jens Odgaard struck beyond the 80th minute in Bologna’s two most recent Serie A outings!
Hot stat: Bologna have Serie A’s best points per game average (1.14) coming into the round when conceding the game’s opening goal (W2, D2, L3).