Fallen giants Lazio take on revived Serie A holders Juventus in the opening game of Matchday 15, with an intense affair expected at Stadio Olimpico.

And while the Biancocelesti have taken mere one point from last five, the Bianconeri head into the derby game on the back of four straight league wins.

After they fail to build on last season’s third place finish, missing out on the Champions League group stages, Lazio also experienced plenty of problems on domestic stage.

The Biancocelesti were unable to hit the ground running, while a difficult injury to key defender Stefan de Vrij further took the wind out of their sails.

And while the team impressed to secure the first place in their Europa League group with a game to spare, their league performance leave a lot to be desired.

Lazio have now lost four of last five Serie A fixtures, while only sharing spoils with Palermo, so no doubt they go into the Juventus clash low on confidence.

Coach Stefano Pioli will have Santiago Gentiletti back from suspension, but Stefano Mauri, Stefan de Vrij and Ogenyi Onazi remain sidelined.

The boss is pondering a switch to 4-4-2, meaning that Filip Djordjevic and Miroslav Klose could get a rare opportunity to be together on the pitch.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Marchetti – Basta, Gentiletti, Mauricio, Lulic – Candreva, Biglia, Parolo, Felipe Anderson – Djordjevic, Klose.

Juventus enjoyed a largely disappointing start to the new season, but it was only a matter of time before Max Allegri’s charges would come good.

That eventually happened near the end of October and the Bianconeri have been quite impressive ever since on all fronts.

Juventus came really close to winning the first place in their Champions League group thanks to yet another triumph over Manchester City, while they also got their Serie A title bid back on track.

Successive wins over Torino, Empoli, AC Milan and Palermo saw the Bianconeri climb to within seven points of leaders Napoli, although the likes of Inter, Fiorentina and AS Roma are still in front of them in the standings.

Juventus now have a good chance to make it five on the bounce against out-of-sorts Lazio, and they are 2.20 (6/5) to succeed in their quest.

Paul Pogba is set to miss the game through suspension, but Max Allegri hopes to welcome back Sami Khedira and Mario Lemina back to the side.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Buffon – Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, Evra – Sturaro, Khedira, Marchisio – Cuadrado, Mandzukic, Dybala.