Zaccagni, Mattia
Lochoshvili, Luka
For the penultimate round of Serie A's campaign, Lazio would want to confirm their spot as the second-best when they come up against an already-relegated Cremonese at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.
Lazio returned to their winning form last matchday when they earned a marginal victory against Udinese, while Cremonese got thrashed in a humiliating fashion at home to Bologna in theirs.
Maurizio Sarri's men stand 2nd in the Serie A table, behind Scudetto winning Napoli with 68 points to their name. Inter Milan are two points behind before the last two matches of this season. Considering the prize money that comes along with positional finishes, it's a prestigious issue for the Eagles to get the job done ahead of Inter.
I Biancocelesti had to bounce now after faltering in securing their results. Three losses with a draw and a win in their previous matches made things difficult for the Romans. They finally won their last game against Udinese, courtesy of captain Ciro Immobile, keeping them ahead of Inter after their concerning run.
Unfortunately for Cremonese, they couldn't extend their stay beyond a season after they got promoted from Serie B. Last weekend their drop was all but confirmed. Remaining seven points away from safety, Davide Ballardini's job is to close this season out respectably.
Le Tigri has managed to win only four out of 36 Serie A games. Even in that, their form on the road has been hollow, with a single win from 18 games. They have missed significant chances on the field, which has proven to be the differentiator between salvaging something for the bids of survival. Both offensively and defensively- they have been poor.
Standing 19th in the Italian top-flight, La Cremo will have much to ponder and return back to their drawing boards, uncovering everything that went wrong. In terms of their recent results, I Grigiorossi have lost and drawn two with a win in their last five games. Just preventing collapses like their last one against Bologna would be adequate for now.
The hosts will likely name an unchanged side. Midfielder Danilo Cataldi has concerns over his calf and will get assessed before the game. Otherwise, Sarri has the rest of his squad available at his disposal. The visitors have to resolve their concerns over forward Cyriel Dessers' discomfort. The Nigerian remains doubtful regarding his availability.
Football fans around the U.K. can catch every action live on BT Sport 4.
Expert Insight: Lazio will operate with a sense of urgency as they would love to finish as the second-best Italian side of this campaign. It will be hard for Cremonese to find any meaningful motivation to fuel them through this affair with their fates sealed. We will likely witness another goal-fest due to the nature of contrast in how both of their seasons have been.
Serie A