The Christmas break is over in Italy, as the Serie A resumes for their first games back in 2022, which means that the Italian Bet Builders are back. Stadio Olympico is the venue as Lazio host Empoli which gets underway this afternoon. The break in fixtures has allowed both sides to refresh and prepare for the second half of the season, as both teams will be pushing as hard as they can towards the European places. Lazio are currently 8th in the table, only three points away from 5th place. This will give them strong amounts of motivation as a place in a European competition next year is within a short reach. Empoli sit in 9th, four points behind their opponents today in 8th. They won’t be able to overtake Lazio in the table with a win today, but they can cause disruption to the hosts’ European charge.
Looking back before the break commenced, Lazio had been racking up points in the league, only losing one in their last five games. They have established winning momentum in the league, with three of their last four games seeing them victorious. Empoli ended 2021 with a loss, however, the defeat against Milan put an end to a good run of five games unbeaten.
With slightly better recent form, Lazio are expected to start the new year better than their counterparts this afternoon and resume their charge up the table. With Lazio averaging 4.22 goals per home game this season, we can expect a thrilling contest as both teams are in an intense battle for league position.
Lazio vs Empoli Bet Builder Tips
Ciro Immobile to Score Anytime
After missing Lazio’s previous two games due to testing positive for Covid-19, Immobile has been pictured in training and is back in the squad. Slotting straight back into the team, I expect Immobile to regain his previous form and be the game changer for Lazio this afternoon. With a tally of 13 goals so far this season after 15 appearances, the Italian is second in the top-scores list in the league and I expect him to continue his fine form against Empoli, as he pushes to add to his goals tally.
Averaging 3.47 shots per game, he is undoubtedly seen as the main channel of action for Lazio, as most of their attacking threat comes through him. Averaging 1.56 of those shots on target per game, this shows that he has no trouble working the keeper as he often creates opportunities for himself to have a go at goal. Because of his strong presence upfront, I believe that Immobile getting on the scoresheet during the match is quite likely, as Maurizio Sarri’s side will be using the striker as their prime attacking threat to claim the three points up for grab.
With 45% of Immobile’s shots hitting the target, he doesn’t need many opportunities to cause trouble for the opposition, as his goal tally this season proves that he has little room for error. When he’s able to work a shot on target, the Lazio faithful have full confidence that the ball will hit the back of the net, as his wealth of experience pays dividends when creating golden opportunities to score. With Immobile’s shots averaging a distance of 14.8 yards, this shows that is always in the right area of the box to pounce on a chance.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Assist Anytime
The highly rated Serbian is one of Lazio’s most creative outlets, as Milinkovic-Savic is currently on six assists this season, only one behind the most in the league. With Lazio favourites in the game tonight, I expect most creative chances to flow through the 26-year-old, as his form this season proves that he is the catalyst for Lazio attacks. Because of this, I’ve picked him out to grab an assist during the game.
With 18 appearances in the league so far this season, Milinkovic-Savic doesn’t normally put a foot wrong. He has a pass completion record of 82.4% which highlights a mix of precision and willingness to try some creative passes going forwards. He averages a total of 2.88 shot creating actions per game, which shows that he is always on hand to push Lazio forwards and can be relied upon to produce the killer pass to his teammates. With the quality of Immobile, Pedro and others up top, chances that Milinkovic-Savic creates will be put away with the expertise from his experienced strike force ahead of him. With most of his passes being made on the ground, his ability to find a top-quality through ball is recognised as a top trait of his, which his teammates can rely on to create an opportunity to score. Milinkovic-Savic has made 67 passes this season that have entered the attacking third, which shows that he always looks to move possession forwards. He has also seen 25 of his passes enter the penalty area, highlighting his confidence of keeping possession in the opponent’s 18-yard box. Milinkovic-Savic’s attacking ability has made him stand out to me as the best pick in the game to get an assist.
Szymon Zurkowski to be Booked
With Lazio looking like the better team on paper, Empoli may spend a lot of their time on the end of multiple Lazio attacks. With the referee for the match averaging 5.33 yellow cards per game this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some Empoli players end up in the book after trying to stop some attacks. My top option for a player to be booked is Zurkowski.
Committing an average of 2.14 fouls per game, his hands will be even more full this afternoon as an attacking force of Immobile, Pedro, Zaccagni and Milinkovic-Savic will prove difficult to stop. With the Pole already racking up four yellow cards this season, he’s not a stranger to being penalised for fouls.
The 24-year-old makes most of his tackles in the defensive third of the pitch, meaning that when Empoli are on the backfoot and are trying to win back possession, he’s not afraid to press up and put his foot in. When players are attempting to dribble past him, he has only tackled 31% of them, presenting a large gap for error in which he can make some fouls. With fast and tricky Lazio players against him this afternoon, he’s my best pick to be booked.
Back my 14/1 Lazio vs Empoli Bet Builder below ⬇️
🧾
Load the bet slip @ 15.68 at Paddy Power
Haven’t got a Paddy Power account? You’re in luck…
Sign up to Paddy Power and get a full refund if your first bet loses. Grab an account through the offer below and place £30 on my 14/1 Lazio vs Empoli Bet Builder. Here are the two possible outcomes:
✅
You win £470 cash if it wins
🔄
Or you get your £30 stake back as cash
* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets, my predicted line-ups can be found below *
Lazio vs Empoli Cheat Sheet
Lazio Predicted 11 vs Empoli: Strakosha; Marusic, Felipe, Radu, Hysaj; Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi, Basic; Pedro, Immobile, Zaccagni (4-3-3)
Empoli Predicted 11 vs Lazio: Vicario; Stojanovic, Romagnoli, Luperto, Parisi; Zurkowski, Ricci, Henderson; Bajrami; Pinamonti, Di Francesco (4-3-1-2)
Lazio vs Empoli Cheat Sheet
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *
How to watch Lazio vs Empoli in the Premier League
📅 When is Lazio vs Empoli? / Thursday, 6 January 2022, 13:30
🏟 Where is Lazio vs Empoli? / Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
📺 What TV Channel is Lazio vs Empoli on? / BT Sport 1
📱 Online Live Streaming for Lazio vs Empoli / bet365
🟨 …And who is the referee for Lazio vs Empoli? / Antonio Giua 🇮🇹
