Lazio vs Venezia prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2024-08-17 18:45.
[p]Despite a strong end to the last campaign which saw Lazio claim seventh spot and UEFA Europa League football, disagreements over transfer targets meant the side from the capital had to deal with the resignation of coach Igor Tudor after less than three months in charge. Marco Baroni was swiftly appointed the new head coach meaning he’s had a full pre-season working with his squad, and an undefeated friendly run during that period does bode well (W4, D2). [/p]
[p]Fans marked the beginning of the summer with protests due to a seeming lack of investment in the squad, although Lazio have proven busy since in the market signing Gaetano Castrovilli from Fiorentina, Tijjani Noslin from Verona and Loum Tchaouma from Salernitana. The loss of club icon Ciro Immobile to Besiktas won’t have pleased supporters, but Baroni will hope his side are still stronger now than they were at the start of the summer, as they look to build on their record of four opening-round wins from the past five years (L1).[/p]
[p]Venezia booked their spot back in Italy’s top tier after successfully navigating Serie B’s play-offs last term, although similar to their opponents, Venezia then had to deal with the departure of their coach Paolo Vanoli who left to join Torino. In his place they appointed Eusebio Di Francesco who will hope to avoid a repeat of the relegation he suffered in charge of Frosinone last season. [/p]
[p]After a rather positive pre-season (W4, D1, L1), life under Di Francesco started on the wrong foot as Venezia suffered a shock 3-1 loss at second-tier Brescia in the Coppa Italia last weekend. The visitors were missing five players from their starting line-up due to various injuries, but the defeat still served as a stark reminder of the job ahead if they want to avoid a repeat of their ill-fated 2021/22 campaign, which ended with a rock-bottom finish en route to relegation.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Lazio’s Noslin has scored five goals since joining the club in January, with four arriving after the break. Venezia might look to Christian Gytkjaer who scored 13 competitive goals last term, with three of the last five arriving inside the opening 25 minutes. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Lazio haven’t kept a clean sheet in a home Serie A opener since 2017 (W2, D1, L3).[/p]
[p][i]Written by Tomáš Vlasák[/i][/p]