Overall squad has stepped up to make UEFA Champions League football a huge possibility for Lazio next season.
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Napoli’s race to the Serie A title has overshadowed the rest of the teams in the league this season. However, Lazio have had a remarkable league season. Captain Ciro Immobile has been injured for large parts of the campaign and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been sub-par for much of the season. But the overall squad has stepped up to make UEFA Champions League football a huge possibility for Lazio next season.
Lazio’s top scorer is Immobile, as on either side of injury issues he has been on top form. Across 28 fixtures in all competitions, he had managed 11 goals and five assists. His latest setback meant he missed the Europa League round of 16 ties against AZ Alkmaar. Lazio were knocked out but their Serie A aspirations remain firmly on track. While the title race may be all but over, fans across the globe will be interested to see who secures European football for next season. In sports bet Zambia, Lazio are odds on favourites at 2/13 to secure a top-four finish in the league, which is just one of many Serie A markets available at sites such as Bwin.
Mattia Zaccagni is a player that has been excellent all season long for Lazio. The versatile attacker has been deployed in various positions for his team, yet he has consistently performed. In his first 34 appearances in all competitions, he managed 10 goals and seven assists. His shooting in particular has been extremely clinical – Zaccagni boasts a 26% goal conversion rate across those games. Zaccagni’s rate of converting chances could be compared with some of Europe’s leading forwards. He may even earn himself a big move this summer, as Juventus have been linked. In his most recent outing, he netted a goal and added an assist at home to the Old Lady. It would be a huge risk to leave a high-flying Lazio side for an underperforming Juve side, however. Zaccagni is excelling at the Stadio Olimpico and alongside star man Immobile could potentially deliver silverware to the club next season.
Lazio had conceded just 20 times after playing 29 Serie A fixtures this season. This made them the strongest defensive team in the entire league at that point, which is owed to the impressive personnel. Alessio Romagnoli joined on a free transfer from AC Milan in the summer. He has quickly established himself as the leader of the defensive unit and has been imperious at the back. Nicolo Casale has commonly been his partner at the back and he has been particularly solid aerially. Lazio are excellent at defending set pieces and balls into the box from open play. Their athletic fullbacks allow them to counter-attack after defending deep. Adam Marusic and Elseid Hysaj offer excellent one-on-one defending as well as the ability to progress the play up the pitch.
Lazio’s midfield area is of course well known to be filled to the brim with technicians as well as a record goalscorer playing ahead of them in Immobile. However, in recent times they have supplemented their strengths with stars all over the pitch. They have defensive leaders and depth in attack and are quietly establishing themselves as one of Italy’s leading clubs.
