Atletico Madrid welcome Lazio to the Civitas Metropolitano on Wednesday evening. When the two clubs met earlier on in the Champions League campaign, the tie ended 1-1, with 95th minute equaliser via goalkeeper, Ivan Provedal, earning the Italian side a point.
Atletico Madrid
Los Colchoneros have been impressive across all competitions this season, and going into the final matchday, they’ve already booked their place in the knockout stages. Atletico lead the way in Group E on 11 points, unbeaten in all five of their matches. Diego Simeone’s team have been excellent at both ends of the field, particularly in attack where they’ve scored three goals per game on average. Furthermore, they’ve only conceded six goals.
Last weekend, Atletico hosted an Almeria side that are bottom of La Liga without a win. The hosts won the match 2-1, but the visitors found plenty of joy and registered 19 shots.
Lazio
Le Aquile have progressed to the knockout stage, thanks to their ten-point tally, which secured them second place. Lazio have won three of their five matches, scoring plenty of late goals, which is a testament to the mentality of the squad. However, they haven’t exactly been convincing, and Maurizio Sarri has found a way to motivate his team over the line at times. The Italian outfit are strong as a defensive unit, conceding just five, but they struggle in front of goal, netting only seven times.
This weekend, they visited Hellas Verona and left with only a point after a 1-1 draw, which will disappoint the fans. Lazio's last two wins were by a 1-0 score line, underlining their issues in attack.
Verdict?
Atletico Madrid boasts a perfect record when playing at home this season, winning ten out of ten across all competitions. On the other hand, Lazio’s only loss in the UCL came versus Feyenoord on the road and they’ve only won two of their eight away Serie A matches.
It’s unknown how both sides will approach this match given that they’re both already through, so we may be in for a rather dull encounter.
The final prediction is Atletico Madrid 2-0 Lazio.
