Lazio vs AC Milan prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2024-08-30 18:45.
[p]Two of Italy’s most famous clubs do battle on matchday three of the 2024/25 Serie A season as Lazio welcome AC Milan to the country’s capital after both have made indifferent starts to the campaign. Having dispatched Venezia with ease at home in their opener (3-1), the hosts then lost to ten-man Udinese last Saturday, after which head coach Marco Baroni stated that the nature of the defeat “should serve as a lesson” for his side.[/p]
[p]What should act as comfort for Lazio at least is that their opening-weekend win over Venezia extended their run to six unbeaten on home soil in Serie A (W5, D1). They haven’t enjoyed a longer such streak since between December 2020 and November 2021 in the competition (19 matches: W17, D2) – a sequence which included a 3-0 success over Milan – but they’ll have to be at their best here against a side who they’ve lost to in each of their last three league H2Hs without even scoring a goal![/p]
[p]That trio of victories forms a longer run of five wins from their last six league H2Hs for Milan (L1), but their start to the campaign potentially points to a much tougher task at hand this time round. After scoring twice late on to draw with Torino on matchday one (2-2), they were then defeated 2-1 on the road by newly-promoted Parma last weekend in what has been a rude awakening for new Rossoneri manager Paulo Fonseca. [/p]
[p]Now he must chart a way past Lazio as, if his side lose again, it’ll be the club’s worst start to a Serie A season in the three-points-for-a-win era and their worst overall since 1946/47. Thankfully for the Portuguese boss, Milan have scored in 20 of their last 21 away league outings, so his attackers could come to his rescue here in Rome if they can keep Lazio at bay.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: New Lazio captain Mattia Zaccagni will be hoping to score just his second goal in what is set to be his 12th H2H, especially as his only previous strike came in a 4-0 home victory. Noah Okafor is likely to lead the Milan attack here; he netted on the opening day, while he also scored in both H2Hs last campaign in exactly the 88th minute! [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Milan’s last ten Serie A away matches have averaged 3.7 goals scored. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Nathan Evans[/i][/p]