Lazio vs Juventus preview

August 17, 2013
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Lazio vs JuventusCoppa Italia winner Lazio take on Serie A champions Juventus in the Italian Super Cup match at Stadio Olimpico, with both sides hoping for a winning start to the season.

The Biancocelesti largely struggled to cope with the busy schedule last term, crashing out in the Europa League quarter-finals, while finishing seventh in domestic league.

However, they managed to save the season by winning the Coppa Italia trophy by beating local rivals Roma in the final after they had previously eliminated Juventus in the semis.

The Biancocelesti are now set to battle Italy’s most famous club in the Italian Super Cup match and they are 2.62 (13/8) with William Hill to lift the trophy.

Lazio officials haven’t made too many changes to the playing squad this summer, with Lucas Biglia, Diego Novaretti and Felipe Anderson the only notable arrivals.

Meanwhile, Modibo Diakite and Mauro Zarate left, while captain Stefano Mauri was slapped with a six-month ban for a reported involvement in the match fixing scandal.

In spite of all their problems, Lazio did pretty well in pre-season, defeating Crystal Palace in their final warm-up game, with Vladimir Petkovic likely to field the same side that started that match.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Marchetti – Konko, Biava, Dias, Radu – Biglia, Ledesma – Candreva, Hernanes, Lulic – Klose.

Juventus successfully defended the Serie A title last term despite the strong challenge from Napoli, but the team were far from impressive in other competitions.

With the club chiefs determined for the Old Lady to again become a force to be reckoned with in European football, they have done some very good business in the summer transfer window.

Fernando Llorente, Carlos Tevez and Angelo Ogbonna were added to what had already been a star-studded squad, while there were no key departures in Turin.

Nevertheless, seeing as how a number of players represented Italy at the 2013 Confederations Cup, pre-season preparations didn’t exactly go as planned, which could create some problems in the early exchanges.

Online bookmakers seem to believe the Bianconeri have what it takes to overcome all worries, with BetVictor paying 2.10 (11/10) on Juventus to win in regular time.

Antonio Conte has taken no less than 27 players to Rome, but Andrea Barzagli and Simone Pepe are unlikely to feature.

Probable starting line-up (3-5-2): Buffon – Caceres, Bonucci, Chiellini – Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah – Vucinic, Tevez.

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