Serie A Preview: Milan vs Lazio – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction

A mouth-watering encounter between European hopefuls Milan and Lazio at Stadio San Siro drops the curtain on Sunday’s Serie A program. The stakes are high for both sides, especially the hosts, who risk being left further behind in an intense top-six race.

Everything seemed nearly idyllic from Rossoneri’s perspective until two weeks ago. Relatively new manager Sergio Conceicao broke the club’s three-year title duck in his first two games in charge of Milan, inspiring the Italian giants to a flattering Supercoppa Italiana glory in January.

Less than two months after conquering the Saudi Arabia-held mini-tournament, Conceicao’s tenure stands on the precipice of a cataclysm. With Milan out of the Champions League after a dismal defeat to Feyenoord and already eight points behind fourth-placed Juventus in Serie A, things don’t look promising for the 50-year-old.

Rafael Leao’s first-half opener in Thursday’s away game against Bologna was supposed to help Milan turn the corner. Yet, Vincenzo Italiano’s side turned the game on its head instead to win 2-1, inflicting Milan’s second consecutive league defeat for the first time this season.

Lazio’s upcoming visit could heighten the pressure on Conceicao as the visitors aim to bounce back from a disheartening 0-0 draw against relegation-threatened Venezia last weekend. A sub-standard performance at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo left Lazio two points adrift of Juventus pre-round.

A 2-0 loss at Milan’s fierce rivals Inter in midweek Coppa Italia action added insult to injury, extending Biancocelesti’s underwhelming run to three winless games in all competitions (D2, L1).

Match Preview

Milan

A fifth successive top-four finish in Serie A looks like a pipe dream for Milan, but missing out on European qualification altogether would be a disaster. However, that’s a distinct possibility as the 19-time Italian champions trail sixth-placed Fiorentina by four points amid a rough patch.

Staring down the barrel of a third league defeat in a row for the first time since February 2023, Milan may relish facing Lazio in times of crisis. Indeed, they’ve got the better of this opposition in six of their last eight meetings (D1, L1), including a comfortable 2-0 triumph in last season’s corresponding fixture.

That result stretched Milan’s winning streak against the Biancocelesti at home to five matches, with the last four yielding multi-goal margin victories ‘to nil.’ More confidence comes from Rossoneri’s decent-looking eight-game unbeaten home league run, though it’s worth noting five of those games ended all square (W3).

Lazio

Despite their recent struggles, Lazio won’t back down, knowing Milan have only won once in nine league encounters against sides starting this round above them (D3, L5). Eager to keep pace with Juventus in a restless top-four race, Baroni’s men seek their first win at the San Siro since November 2019.

However, there’s a distraction waiting around the corner. After a remarkable form in the league phase of this season’s Europa League, Lazio are among the favorites to lift the title ahead of next week’s clash against Viktoria Plzen in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Lazio must not let European commitments divert their attention now as they bid to build on a commendable run of six wins from their last eight away league matches (D1, L2). That’s because four of their five Serie A defeats on the road this season came against teams starting this round in the upper half of the table.

Scoring first could determine the fate of this heavyweight showdown, with only one of Lazio’s six away outings in 2025 seeing both teams score.

Team News

Milan boss Conceicao cannot call upon long-term absentees Alessandro Florenzi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Emerson Royal. But on the bright side, Kyle Walker should be back from a minor muscle problem, meaning Alejandro Jimenez could drop to the bench.

Winter arrival Santiago Gimenez will likely lead the line against a Lazio side he has scored five times against across four previous appearances against them. That puts more weight on the visitors’ defensive crisis after Alessio Romagnoli had to come off at halftime in Tuesday’s cup loss.

The former Milan center-back has joined Taty Castellanos, Elseid Hysaj, and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru in the treatment room.

Milan vs Lazio Potential Starting Line-ups

Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Walker, Thiaw, Pavlovic, Hernandez; Fofana, Musah; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Gimenez.

Lazio (4-2-3-1): Provedel; Lazzari, Gila, Gigot, Tavares; Guendouzi, Rovella; Isaksen, Dia, Zaccagni; Tchaouna.

Milan vs Lazio Prediction

Defensive woes have marred both teams this season and threaten to disrupt their lofty ambitions in this game. The reverse fixture at the Stadio Olimpico ended 2-2, and we wouldn’t be surprised if they share the spoils again.

Prediction: Draw

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