Aiming to end a two-month wait without a victory at Stadio Olimpico, Lazio welcome Parma to the capital in Monday's gameweek 34 contest in Serie A.
Marco Baroni's men have benefitted from their away form in the race to finish in the top six spots, which the Biancocelesti could lose if their four-match winless home run extends against the Emilians, who still are not assured of a spot in next season's top flight.
Match preview
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When Lazio beat Bologna 3-0 at the end of November, Baroni's men had just defeated a fifth consecutive opponent at the Olimpico, having notched six wins from their opening seven home games, only dropping points in late August's 2-2 draw with AC Milan.
Following that success over the Rossoblu was a 6-0 hammering at the hands of defending league champions Inter Milan, a heavy defeat that marked the start of the team's ongoing run of just one victory in nine matches at home.
While Baroni might have thought February 9's 5-1 thrashing of Monza, which ended a four-game winless streak (two losses), was the turning point on home turf, that win has been followed by four draws against Napoli (2-2), Udinese (1-1), Torino (1-1) and the derby clash with Roma (1-1).
Despite the shortage of victories in Rome, claiming three wins from their last four away matches keeps the Aquilotti sixth in the final spot, guaranteeing a place in the Conference League playoff round.
That spot could go to the seventh-placed side, though that scenario hinges on the Coppa Italia winners also finishing in the top six — finalists Bologna and Milan are fourth and ninth, respectively.
Nevertheless, Lazio will hope to finish higher than sixth to avoid such a disappointing outcome, which remains feasible as they are one point behind Bologna in fourth and level with Juventus, who also have 59 points.
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Entering this weekend aiming to thwart Lazio's desire to end a four-match winless streak in Rome are Parma, who historically have a poor record against Monday's opponents in the capital.
Cristian Chivu takes the Emilians to Lazio knowing that the Gialloblu have been defeated in eight consecutive visits to the Olimpico in Serie A, an unwanted streak they seek to end on Monday.
The form going into the round 34 fixture favours the away side, whose improvement since Chivu took charge has seen the Yellow and Blues lose just once in eight top-flight games — a 1-0 defeat at Udinese — although Parma only just secured their second victory under the former centre-back in the midweek 1-0 win over Juventus.
While five of their eight fixtures under Chivu have ended in stalemates, Parma have collected 11 points in Serie A, two fewer than Monday's hosts, highlighting the improvement in Emilia-Romagna and the dip in the capital.
Those results leave the Emilians six points clear of Venezia and Empoli in 18th and 19th place respectively with five games remaining, bringing the promoted side closer to safety.
Without an away win since beating Venezia in November, Parma's results on the road may not bode well before another trip to Lazio; however, Chivu's men have been hard to beat away, keeping consecutive clean sheets against Hellas Verona and Fiorentina (both 0-0), and they will look to repeat that to avoid a ninth straight loss against the capital club at the Olimpico
Team News
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Reda Belahyane will miss Monday's fixture after being sent off in the 2-0 win at Genoa, while Manuel Lazzari, Nuno Tavares (muscle) and Patric (ankle) are likely out due to injury.
Although Valentin Castellanos (10 goals, three assists) is the home team's leading goalscorer, the Biancocelesti can rely on Boulaye Dia (eight goals, three assists) and Mattia Zaccagni (eight goals, six assists) for decisive contributions in the attacking third.
Chivu has several injury concerns heading into Monday's clash: Adrian Benedyczak, Adrian Bernabe and Valentin Mihaila will be evaluated, while Alessandro Vogliacco, Gabriel Charpentier, Mateusz Kowalski and Yordan Osorio are expected to be absent.
With six goals and three assists this season, Ange-Yoan Bonny is the primary threat for the Emilians this term, and the 21-year-old aims to make an impact in the capital.
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Mandas; Marusic, Gila, Romagnoli, Pellegrini; Rovella, Guendouzi; Isaksen, Dia, Zaccagni; Castellanos
Parma possible starting lineup:
Suzuki; Delprato, Leoni, Valenti; Hainaut, Hernani, Keita, Sohm, Valeri; Pellegrino, Bonny
We say: Lazio 1-1 Parma
Although Lazio have the historical advantage in this fixture, the capital club's downturn in results at the Olimpico and Parma's defensive improvement under Chivu suggest that the Emilians will avoid a ninth consecutive loss in Rome.
The Aquilotti have drawn four consecutive home games, with the last three ending 1-1, and the visitors will back themselves to limit Baroni's men in another score draw.
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