Lazio host Napoli at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday in a match that could decide which of the two teams will play in the Champions League next season. The reverse fixture ended 1-1 at San Paolo in November, Balde Keita scored the equaliser after Marek Hamsik had opened the scoring for Napoli. The last six meetings between the two sides show a balanced record, with two draws and two wins apiece.
Lazio have a good streak going, they had ten games without defeat before this week's Coppa Italia semi-final. They lost the second leg 3-2 against city rivals Roma but advanced to the final thanks to the 2-0 first-leg victory. They are four points behind Napoli in fourth place, victory on Sunday could give a significant boost to their Champions League hopes. Striker Ciro Immobile will most likely play despite an injury he picked up on international duty.
Napoli are on a four-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, including last week's 1-1 Serie A draw against Juventus and this week's 3-2 Coppa Italia victory over the Bianconeri. However, that win was not enough to secure a place in the Italian Cup final after the 3-1 first-leg defeat. Napoli can still hope to finish second as they are just four points behind Roma, but first they must make sure they finish third by avoiding defeat at Lazio.
Probable line-ups:
Lazio: Strakosha - Bastos, Hoedt, Radu - Basta, Milinkovic-Savic, Biglia, Parolo, Lulic - Anderson - Immobile
Napoli: Reina - Hysaj, Koulibaly, Albiol, Ghoulam - Zielinski, Diawara, Hamsik - Callejon, Mertens, Insigne
My prediction: 1-1 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Lazio win - 2.70
Draw - 3.60
Napoli win - 2.50
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