Juventus take on Lazio on Sunday 13th August at the Olympic Stadium, with the Italian Super Cup on the line.
Juventus Form
Having collected their sixth consecutive Serie A title, along with success in the Coppa Italia, giants Juventus will be looking to kick-start their campaign with a win over rivals Lazio. Manager Massimo Allegri has been the inspiration for the team since the departure of Antonio Conte in Turin, with his players having dominated all before them domestically. Despite having lost inspirational defender Leonardo Bonucci to rival’s AC Milan, ‘The Old Lady’ still have an assortment of riches to select from, with Douglas Costa, Mattia De Sciglio and Wojciech Szczęsny having moved to the Juventus Stadium over the summer. However, there are concerns for Juve surrounding the fitness of star striker, Paulo Dybala, with the Argentine facing a race against time to prove his fitness ahead of the match.
Lazio Form
After finishing fifth in the Serie A standings last season, manager Simone Inzaghi is under pressure to ensure that his team challenges the likes of Napoli and Roma for Champions League places this time around. However, having lost midfielder Lucas Biglia to big-spending Milan, supporters at the Stadio Olimpico may be a little worried ahead of the new campaign, especially given the latest rumour surrounding Juventus’ pursuit of Keita Balde. The experience of former Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva could well prove vital against teams such as Juventus.
Head to Head
Juventus have certainly got the better of their Italian rivals over recent meetings, with their last victory coming in the Coppa Italia final, where they ran out 2-0 winners. Allegri’s men also defeated Lazio twice during the Serie A campaign, ending up with a 6-0 aggregate scoreline over Simone Inzaghi’s men throughout the 16/17 season. In fact, since 2003, the two teams have met on 38 occasions, with Juventus winning a staggering 24 times. Such statistics only further demonstrate their dominance over Lazio in recent years.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Juventus are unsurprisingly the firm favourites for the match with all major bookmakers, with Ladbrokes offering them odds of 4/5 to defeat Lazio once again, while the Rome-based side can be found at 7/2, with a draw between the two teams at 5/2. Given Juve’s dominance within the Italian game over the past five years or so, it is difficult to look beyond another win for the Old Lady, despite Allegri’s men perhaps not being at their best given the early stage of the new season. It remains to be seen just how much of an impact the loss of Bonucci will have upon the team, with Lazio perhaps fancying their chances of hitting the back of the net in his absence. As a result, backing both teams to score 10/11 with William Hill is perhaps worth taking a punt on.
However, with Lazio having failed to score a single goal against Juventus since the Coppa Italia final back in 2015, odds of 11/8 on the reigning Serie A champions to keep a clean sheet also look appealing. Given the nature of the game, with both teams still striving for top form and fitness, it is suggested to back the team with the best history in this competition, with Juve having won the Super Cup on seven occasions.
Our Top Betting Tip
Despite some attractive looking deals elsewhere, our top betting tip is to back Juventus to win both halves against Lazio, which can be found at best odds of 18/5 at William Hill.