Matchday thirty arrives and for our Lazio it is time to raise the bar, perhaps bringing home the third consecutive win (something that has never happened this season).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lazio travel to Bologna, where they will face a team in fine form \u2014 above all thanks to the important win in the UEFA Europa League derby against Roma (painful for us), but also on the back of a very positive recent run (3 wins in their last 5 league games, including 2 consecutive).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bologna’s current condition is on the whole very good. They remain a team without singular peaks, but full of excellent individuals \u2014 it is no coincidence that their last 8 goals were scored by 8 different players, which makes them difficult to read, both with first-choice starters and with potential substitutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lazio for their part arrive in good shape in terms of results, but in far worse shape health-wise, both because of the kilometres put in by the players and because of the many absences \u2014 the latest being Zaccagni, injured on Sunday against Milan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There have been two meetings this season:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the 1-1 draw in Rome with Isaksen’s goal, equalised two minutes later by Odgaard, and the win in Bologna after a penalty shootout in the Coppa Italia, which allowed the biancocelesti to reach the semi-final against Atalanta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year the matches between the two sides have always been enjoyable and balanced, full of moments of tension, with Bologna tending to keep the pace and pressure high, looking for a more collective approach with many runs between the lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lazio for their part make defensive organisation their strong point, developing play mainly down the flanks, with Maldini very good at creating space and through-balls for the wide men’s transitions \u2014 Isaksen above all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The extra element in this recent Lazio (far less so in previous months) is certainly Gustav Isaksen, scorer of the winning goal against Milan, and a thorn in the side of the entire Milan defence in the late Sunday evening match in round twenty-nine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite this, the numbers are not exactly top-level for his category: this season Isaksen has scored 4 goals and provided 1 assist,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Isaksen has again shown this year that he is a winger naturally suited to one-on-one situations, very good at beating a man with the ball at his feet, but far less effective in the final action \u2014 whether goal or assist \u2014 where he is much less clinical compared to his ability in transitions from defence to attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In conclusion, Isaksen is a modern winger: high xG but without the goal-scoring instinct needed to be among the best in Serie A in his role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The absolute protagonist in the Europa League round of sixteen with the goal that opened the scoring last night and the author of an impressive display that put Gasperini’s defence under pressure \u2014 including the assist for Santiago Castro’s goal \u2014 the English under-21 left winger has this season made 33 appearances, scoring 5 goals and providing 4 assists across all competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starting quietly with some difficulties (scoring his first league goal on 8 March against Verona), he now seems to have added quantity and quality to his performances, with yesterday’s match being his absolute best performance of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comparison with Isaksen<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slightly better numbers for the Bologna winger, though he has fewer minutes and fewer starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Isaksen<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rowe<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two players essentially similar in their defensive approach, though Isaksen visually covers better (probably also more disciplined under Sarri).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ravaglia; Zortea, Vitik, Lucumi, Miranda; Sohm, Freuler; Orsolini, Odgaard, Cambiaghi; Dallinga<\/p>\n\n\n\n Motta; Marusic, Gila, Romagnoli, Tavares; Dele-Bashiru, Patric, Taylor; Isaksen, Maldini, Pedro<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bologna, galvanised by their European qualification, will certainly try to play their game \u2014 building from the back but quickly going vertical, constantly finding many men between the lines (a characteristic evident in the match against Roma, with Castro often found in the midfield line) and the wide men always heavily involved, both in depth and in build-up play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are a team that, by raising the pace and creating many situations, tries to draw you into their game \u2014 something that does not necessarily work against Sarri’s defensive organisation and his Lazio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lazio will certainly exploit their mid-block (not constantly ultra-high pressing, but positional defence \u2014 the typical hallmark of Sarri’s tactics) and the search for quick transitions thanks to the high wide men and their false nine, ready to also trigger the power and pace of Dele-Bashiru.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The athletic aspect will also be important: Bologna will likely rotate heavily to compensate for the cup exertions, while Lazio will respond with the classic “typical week” preparation, Mau style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I believe the two key positions in the match will be Patric for Lazio and the striker for Bologna. Castro created numerical superiority multiple times against Roma, giving Bologna an offensive advantage in Gasperini’s half. Patric will be fundamental in managing the moments of the match: if he can shake off the press and manage possession in a balanced way, Lazio could find the patterns needed to go quickly vertical, exploiting the gaps created by Bologna’s very aggressive pressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All that remains is to wait for Sunday to find out how this promising match ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Enrico Volpini<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Matchday thirty arrives and for our Lazio it is time to raise the bar, perhaps bringing home the third consecutive win (something that has never happened this season). Lazio travel to Bologna, where they will face a team in fine form \u2014 above all thanks to the important win in the UEFA Europa League derby […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":9900191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[285],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9900017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pre-match"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9900017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9900017"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9900017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9900196,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9900017\/revisions\/9900196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9900191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9900017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9900017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sslazio.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9900017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Volume and Threat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Impact on Play<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Rowe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Average Offensive Stats This Season<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Average Defensive Stats This Season<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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LIKELY LINE-UPS AND TACTICAL APPROACH<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bologna (4-2-3-1)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Lazio (4-3-3)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Expected Tactical Approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
PERSONAL ANALYSIS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n