Italian Serie A
2025-08-31 - Lazio vs Hellas Verona
A Sports Betting Pick by Cafa
Italy Serie A - Round 2
Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Lazio, Italy (70,634)
Sunday, 31 August 2025, 20:45 CET
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Lazio Team News
Lazio lost 2-0 at Lago di Como, not even scoring once, but at least they can now say they served as a stepping stone for an upcoming Italian giant, Como, that is in the process of learning how to beat the traditional teams consistently.
If you watch the highlights, you'll find that Lazio was on the receiving end of all of them. Castellanos had a goal disallowed because he was clearly in an offside trap, and that's it. Como run Lazio ragged on the day, Nico Paz in particular. It was a battle of the new versus the old, and the old lost without even doing anything.
Now Lazio and Maurizio Sarri are back to familiar territory, Serie A as it once was, where they can calmly call themselves favourites against a traditional minnow. Last season, Lazio won both meetings, 2-1 in Rome and 0-3 in Verona.
Verona Team News
We suspected Verona might do relatively well in Udine and took a punt on the away win at 4.50, and indeed Verona was the more active team for almost two thirds of the match. Giovane in particular was a menace, he had three or four decent long shots that he created space for himself. The 21-year-old arrival from Brazil might turn out to be a decent signing, especially as Verona is heavily reliant on such players that can do things for themselves. On the other hand, Amin Sarr, a more expensive arrival from Lyon, has done nothing.
Last season, Verona had six away wins. For comparison, Juventus, Roma and Fiorentina each had seven. This team just seems to get pleasure from being underestimated, and then showing they can play fluent football.
They normally fizzle out around the hour mark and eventually lose the match, but sometimes they manage to hold on. A tricky team to bet on for sure. What's important is to not underestimate them.
Probable Lineups
Lazio (4-3-3): Provedel - Marusic, Gila, Provstgaard, Tavares - Guendouzi, Rovella, Dele-Bashiru - Cancellieri, Castellanos, Zaccagni. Coach Baroni.
Verona (3-5-2): Montipo - Nunez, Nelsson, Ebosse - Fallou, Serdar, Bernede, Niasse, Frese - Giovane, Mosquera. Coach Zanetti.
The Betting Market
Lazio is a 1.49 favourite, as if it were a sure thing, as if Lazio is known to trump minnows when playing at home. This is not the case. Much more commonly, Lazio would struggle to solve the riddle that is a bottom-half team visiting Stadio Olimpico. Verona almost had more away wins (6) than Lazio had home wins (7) last season.
Over/Under is split down the middle at 1.90, while BTTS-No is the more likely outcome according to the bookmakers at 1.75.
All of the odds make sense except for the price on Lazio, that is heavily influenced by the team name and tradition.
The Betting Verdict
This doesn't look like an easy win for Lazio. Verona is weak but not harmless, they have a way of making life miserable for the hosts. Not saying you can count on it, but if you play poor defence then Verona will get you. Lazio, as it turns out, is known to play poor defence, especially when favoured.
Lazio was the 9th-best host in the league, with 7-9-3 33:26. That's 1.37 conceded goals per home game. Verona scored exactly 1.00 per away game.
Just saying, as likely as Lazio's win is, there's a good chance that it won't come easy. We're looking at Verona to either score first or to equalize, and Lazio will need the second goal in both cases.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Lazio 2-1 Verona
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
Take Over 2.5 Goals at 1.90 at Bet365
