Serie A Game to Watch: Lazio v. Juventus

The Serie A Game to Watch this week fea­tures the only matchup of two teams in the top four in the stand­ings.  Although it is only the third week of the sea­son (sorry Sam­p­do­ria fans), both Lazio and Juven­tus are eye­ing a pos­si­ble scud­etto and this match could keep one club’s early momen­tum going.

Lazio:  The Bian­co­ce­lesti comes into the match with two close wins to begin the sea­son against two clubs that could bat­tle rel­e­ga­tion all sea­son.  What was con­cern­ing in their most recent 2–1 win over Chievo Verona was the tight nature of con­test; the home team had eleven cor­ners and staged a late blitz of shots against the Lazio defense.  How­ever Lazio’s abil­ity (or luck?) to hold on for a win even after defender Sanchez Emil­son Crib­ari was sent off shows some deter­mi­na­tion from the team.

The sea­son over­all has been a mixed bag for Lazio.  Over the sum­mer, Lazio upset Inter in the inau­gural Super Cup in Bei­jing.  How­ever, the Lazio faith­ful are rest­less, as the club failed to sign some of its tar­gets in the recent trans­fer win­dow.  Addi­tion­ally, it now seems the cap­tain Tam­maso Roc­chi and his two goals on the year will join striker Mauro Zarate on the side­lines with injuries.

Juven­tus: La Vec­chia Sig­nora is in its famil­iar place in the stand­ings thanks to two wins over Chievo Verona and Roma.  In par­tic­u­lar, Juven­tus exploited Roma mis­takes to blitz the hap­less Gial­lorossi in a 3–1 win.  New acqui­si­tion Diego has notched two goals and an assist so far this season.

The names on this squad are famil­iar to fans of Ital­ian soc­cer, as many of the start­ing eleven are also on the Ital­ian national team.  It starts in the back with Gian­luigi Buf­fon, one of the best keep­ers in the world.  Vin­cenzo Iaquinta once again leads the offense but it is new acqui­si­tion Diego who seems to be a nec­es­sary spark for the offense, set­ting up Iaquinta on the only goal in the Chievo Verona match and scor­ing two goals against Roma.

Pre­dic­tion: Both clubs have the tal­ent and expe­ri­ence to com­pete for the scud­etto.  Lazio has shown a deter­mined defense so far, hold­ing off late charges in both their matches for six points.  How­ever, the loss of two of their most tal­ented starters will prove to be insur­mount­able.  The key is whether the recent inter­na­tional break has helped or tired the Juven­tus side; after Saturday’s match they face Bor­deaux in the Champion’s League Tuesday.

Juven­tus slips a few past the Lazio defense for a 2–1 victory.

Tagged as: AS Roma, Diego, Juventus, Lazio, Mauro Zarate