Overview
After finishing 9th in Serie A last season, Lazio had to start the Coppa Italia journey from the first round. Only the top 8 teams in the league are specially allowed to advance straight to the third round.
Lazio fans expect their team to have a positive start, especially after the defeat in the 2026 National Cup final at home. However, Gennaro Gattuso's team soon received a shock when they were eliminated from the tournament by Mantova, a team playing in Serie B.
Gattuso's first official match as Lazio coach closed in bitterness. The capital team conceded twice in the final minutes and suffered a defeat that the Italian coach likened to "a punch in the face".
While opponents like Roma are preparing to return to the European arena, Lazio continues to be outside this playground for the second consecutive season. Serie A therefore becomes the only front where Biancocelesti can still focus all their strength in the near future.
That journey began with a away match against Bologna. Lazio once won at Dall'Ara in March thanks to a double by Kenneth Taylor, but their performance in opening matches was not very positive when they lost 2 in the last 3 seasons.
On the opposite side, Bologna also entered the season with many question marks. Rossoblu have only won 1 in the last 9 matches and just experienced a defeat against Brighton in the last friendly match of the summer.
Domenico Tedesco will have his first official match as Bologna coach and face the task of reviving the team after Vincenzo Italiano leaves. Italiano once helped Bologna win the Coppa Italia 2025, enter the Europa League knockout round and finish 8th in Serie A last season.
Tedesco quickly embarked on the reconstruction process, in the context that Bologna had to part ways with some key players due to the pressure from big clubs.
The most urgent problem lies at home. Bologna earned 12 points less at home than their away record last season, the biggest gap in the top 5 European leagues. They are also among the teams with the most home defeats in Serie A.
Personnel situation
Bologna have parted ways with some key players such as Jhon Lucumi and Santiago Castro in the summer, but they can still welcome three new signings Mikel Amondarain, Artem Dovbyk and Roberto Piccoli in the upcoming match.
After Castro left, Dovbyk and Piccoli will compete for a starting spot in the center forward position, while Jonathan Rowe and Riccardo Orsolini take on support roles from both wing corridors.
Lazio also experienced a volatile summer in defense. Mario Gila moved to Milan, and number one goalkeeper Ivan Provedel joined Inter.
In the opposite direction, new signings Davide Frattesi, Danilo Doekhi and Alfonso Pedraza may all be given the opportunity to start. The possibility of Josip Sutalo completing the procedures to participate is still open.
Expected lineup:
Skorupski, Zortea, Vitik, Heggem, Miranda, Moro, Ferguson, Orsolini, Bernardeschi, Rowe, Dovbyk.
Mandas, Marusic, Doekhi, Provstgaard, Pedraza, Frattesi, Rovella, Taylor, Cancellieri, Dia, Zaccagni.
The match between Bologna and Lazio takes place at 11:30 PM on August 24th (Vietnam time).
