Overview
Maurizio Sarri bluntly criticized Lazio's lack of ambition after the 0-0 draw with Lecce last week, even warning that the team could fall into a difficult situation if the situation does not change.
That lackluster draw took place just a few days after a 0-3 defeat right at home to the sublimating Como. Lazio came to Stadio Via del Mare hoping to regain their spirit, but in the end continued to disappoint, leading to Sarri's latest breakout.
Although the prospect of relegation is not really feasible, Lazio is still in a worrying decline when falling to ninth place. The capital team is 11 points behind Como in sixth place in the race to win a European cup ticket, in the context that the already thin force is still eroded by the loss of Valentin Castellanos and Matteo Guendouzi.
Once a fortress, Olimpico no longer brings a sense of security. Lazio has only won 4 home matches this season and has not had any victories in 2026. However, history is still somewhat on their side when hosting Genoa. Before returning to Olimpico, Lazio had won 7 of their last 9 home matches against Genoa, and once defeated the opponent 3-0 in September last year.
In the opposite direction, Genoa also has clear disadvantageous statistics. Including the home defeat at the beginning of the season, they have lost to Lazio 4 consecutive Serie A matches without scoring a single goal. Further back, Grifone has only kept a clean sheet once in the last 17 encounters.
However, Genoa is no longer a chaotic team as before. Under the leadership of Daniele De Rossi, they are unbeaten in 5 matches since the beginning of 2026, a series of results is enough to pull the team out of danger. Before De Rossi arrived, Genoa was close to the brink of relegation, but now it has created a 6-point gap with the bottom 3 teams.
The latest spiritual support comes from a dramatic comeback last weekend. Genoa was led by Bologna by 2 goals at home, but took full advantage of the opponent with only 10 players left. Junior Messias' late goal sealed the victory, making Stadio Ferraris explode.
With that spirit, Genoa can narrow the gap with Lazio to 3 points if they win at the Olimpico. Such a breakthrough not only adds more confidence to them, but also puts pressure on their rivals in the bottom group in the weekend matches.
Personnel situation
Although Lazio has lost some players, most recently the Greek goalkeeper Christos Mandas moved to Bournemouth, the team still managed to strengthen the force with Kenneth Taylor and Petar Ratkov. At the same time, they also just welcomed Italian international Daniel Maldini.
Joining on loan from Atalanta, Maldini hopes to play, in the context that Biancocelesti's attack has been quite lackluster for most of the season.
Matteo Cancellieri and captain Mattia Zaccagni currently lead Lazio's Serie A scoring list with 3 goals each, and both have scored in the first leg in September.
In terms of personnel, Sarri has not yet been able to use Samuel Gigot and Patric due to injuries, while Nicolo Rovella has not yet reached his best physical condition after a long period of rest.
On Genoa's side, the absent list includes Albert Gronbaek, Benjamin Siegrist and new signing Tommaso Baldanzi, who just joined on loan from Roma.
Center-back Leo Ostigard may return after serving a one-match suspension, meaning Sebastian Otoa is likely to have to give way.
Expected lineup:
Provedel, Lazzari, Gila, Provstgaard, Marusic, Basic, Cataldi, Taylor, Cancellieri, Ratkov, Zaccagni.
Leali, Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vasquez, Norton-Cuffy, Frendrup, Malinovskyi, Ellertsson, Martin, Vitinha, Colombo.
The match between Lazio and Genoa takes place at 2:45 am on January 31 (Vietnam time).
