PREVIEW

On Thursday evening, Lazio will try and shake off the bitter taste they were left with following two heartbreaking losses in the space of four days in the Coppa Italia and Serie A, respectively. I Biancocelesti return to action in their third competition, Europa League, where they face Dynamo Kiev at the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg of Round of 16.

THE OPPOSITION

Dynamo returned to European football in mid-February when they clashed with AEKAthens in the Europa League’s Round of 32 – the Ukrainians squeezed into the next round courtesy of an away goal rule, although the Greek side left the better overall impression. Dynamo have scored the highest number of goals in the Europa League so far (16), second only to Lazio (17), but 15 of those goals came in Group B that they easily topped, in the competition of Partizan, YoungBoys and Skenderbeu. In their domestic league, they have been pretty inconsistent and with 10 more rounds of Championship games to play, they face a tough task of catching up to champions Shakhtar Donetsk on top of the table.

LAST TIME OUT, LAZIO

After a physically and even more psychologically exhausting Coppa Italia semi-final exit on penalties to Milan, Lazio were very much in need of a good result against champions Juventus on Saturday. They were so close to a well-deserved, goalless draw, when Paulo Dybala‘s piece of skill, along with the lack of concentration of our defence in stoppage time stopped the heart of every Lazio fan. Ramos had a solid performance at the back, but had another blow to his confidence, as he got misplaced guarding the Argentinian, and also missed the last penalty versus Milan.

TEAM NEWS AND PREDICTED LINEUPS

Adam Marušić should start at wing/back position again, as he has another game of suspension to work out in the league, away to Cagliari on Sunday. That game comes less than three days from the duel with Dynamo, so Simone Inzaghi could rest some players on Thursday. He may use Felipe Anderson as a second half sub once again, but it wouldn’t be imposible to see both the Brazilian and Luis Alberto in the starting lineup, as completed in the Steaua return leg. We remember that worked out pretty well. Here is the predicted lineup:

GOALKEEPER: Strakosha;

DEFENDERS: Bastos, de Vrij, Gabarron;

MIDFIELDERS:Lulić (C), Milinković-Savić, Leiva, Murgia, Marušić;

ATTACKERS: Alberto, Immobile.

PREDICTION

Lazio 2 – 0 Dynamo Kiev

Lazio are in advantage quality-wise, compared to Dynamo, but it is of huge importance to get in front in this tie ahead of the Kiev trip. I think that focused and sustained pressure from the start will give the desired result and that the game will be much easier if the Eagles open the opposition up in time and avoid pushing for it when the legs get tired. But, we must pay more attention on defending from crosses and keeping composure when the ball is lost, which has been a headache lately.