Italian Serie A
2012-01-15 - Lazio vs Atalanta
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football : Italy : Seria A
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Sunday 15th January – Kickoff time: 12:30 GMT+1
Lazio (4th W-8 D-6 L-3)
Not being able to win any of their last three games, it seems like Lazio lost contact with the podium, slipping five points behind third placed Udinese.
After two draws at Olimpico against Udinese and Chievo, Lazio were trashed 4-0 by relegation-threatened Siena. Strikers Destro and Calaio eached grabbed two goals as the title contenders from the capital suffered their biggest loss of the season.
Lazio’s weakness came from the central defenders, an area covered by Stankevicius and Biava, both being unsecure and making mistakes that cost the visitors, the Lithuanian even had a clumsy challenge in the box that allowed Siena to score their second goal from a penalty.
After that match, it’s likely to see Andre Dias and Mobido Diakite to start in the middle of Lazio’s defense. Cristain Brocchi, Konko, Stefano Mausi and Lorik Cana on the other hand will miss out because of injuries, while Albani Bizzarri is suspended for the game.
Lazio added some firepower to their attack in the transfer period, signing Uruguayan forward Emiliano Alfaro from Liverpool Montevideo.
Probable Lazio line-up :
Scaloni, Dias, Diakité, Radu
Gonzalez, Ledesma, Lulic
Hernanes
Klose, Rocchi
Atalanta (8th W-6 D-8 L-3)
Atalanta won three of the last four games played against Lazio, only conceding one goal and their current results recommend them to pull off a good result this time as well.
The 0-2 loss against Milan in the previous stage put an end to a 7 match unbeaten run, which is impressive for a newly promoted in a tough championship like Seria A.
As a matter of fact, Atalanta only lost three games this season, only the top three placed teams managed to lose less, while Internazionale or Napoli both lost 6 already. Thanks to these results, they are now 8th, only one point behind AS Roma and Napoli.
Atalanta only lost one of their last five games on the road, mainly thanks to the good form of German Denis, the man that scored more than half of Atalanta’s total goals this season.
Atalanta will have to manage without Matteo Brighi and Daniele Capeli.
Probable Atalanta line-up :
Masiello, Ferri, Manfredini, Peluso
Schelotto, Padoin, Cigarini, Bonaventura
Marilungo
Denis
The Betting Verdict
Despite being 4th at the moment, Lazio is only 15th on the home league table, only winning three out of nine at Olimpico, results that make them vulnerable against an Atalanta side that rarely losses games.
Atalanta showed a lot of confidence on their travels, they weren’t as tight as small teams are when playing on the road and as a results they’ve scored 12 goals in 8 games, only losing twice.
I would say that the pressure is on Lazio here, Atalanta is in a good position on the table and a positive result here would be like a bonus, but the hosts will have Hernanes back for this game and he proved that he can be decisive when the team needs it. Therefore, I consider Lazio favorites to win the game, but I expect Atalanta to put up a good fight and not lose by more than one goal.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Lazio 2-1 Atalanta
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Both teams to score at 1.91 LadbrokesConfidence: 7/10
