When the draw for the Champions League playoffs was made, this tie - along with Valencia vs. Monaco - was the standout fixture.

With the riches that come from qualifying for the group stages on offer, it is a vital encounter for both Lazio and Bayer Leverkusen, with the first leg to be played at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday evening.

Lazio

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Having finished third in Serie A last term, Lazio are now on the cusp of booking their place in the group phase of the Champions League for the first time since 2007.

Yet, while there should be plenty of positivity surrounding the Rome-based outfit at a time like this, it is not all sweetness and light.

There are four new faces in the squad, including former Manchester United and West Ham United playmaker Ravel Morrison. Once dubbed the bad boy of English football, the 22-year-old was recently branded the 'new Gazza' by sections of the Italian press.

Of the other three signings - Wesley Hoedt, Patric and Ricardo Kishna - only the latter cost a fee and that was around £2m. Not just that, none of the fresh arrivals are over the age 22, which has resulted in suggestions that Stefano Pioli's squad is perhaps lacking in experience in some key areas.

Lazio's pre-season form has also been worrying, with defeats being suffered at the hands of Vicenza, Anderlecht and Mainz 05. That was then followed by the Italian Super Cup in Shanghai - a game that saw champions Juventus run out 2-0 winners.

Despite all this, Aquile can at least take some heart from their recent European record in the playoffs. They may never have featured at this stage of the Champions League, yet they have successfully navigated their way through three playoffs in the Europa League over recent years.

Recent form: DDLWLL
Recent form (all competitions): WWLLLL

Bayer Leverkusen

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Having reached the final of the Champions League at Hampden Park in 2002, for a number of years afterwards, Bayer struggled to maintain that sort of form in Europe's top club competition.

However, in recent years the men from Leverkusen have started to make more of an impact on the tournament once again.

In the last four installments, the Red and Blacks have advanced beyond the groups on three occasions, although their interest has then ended at the last-16 stage each time. They are also no strangers to the playoffs, having come through against Copenhagen 7-2 on aggregate 12 months ago.

As far as recent performances go, a run of three pre-season friendly triumphs proved to be just the tonic for the start of the Bundesliga campaign at the weekend.

Roger Schmidt's men actually fell behind at home to Hoffenheim when Steven Zuber found the net in just the fifth minute, but goals from Stefan Kiessling and young substitute Julian Brandt secured a 2-1 win for the hosts.

The departures of Gonzalo Castro and Josip Drmic to Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach was bound to have been a source of disappointment for supporters, but that blow is likely to have been eased by the arrivals of Admir Mehmedi, Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Chile international Charles Aranguiz.

Recent form: WWLDWL
Recent form (all competitions): LDWWWW

Team News

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As mentioned above, Morrison has impressed during his short time in the Italian capital, but he is not expected to play any part in this encounter because of an ankle problem.

The Englishman suffered the complaint against Vicenza in July and he was seen leaving the ground on crutches, but Lazio are yet to confirm the extent of the damage.

It is also unlikely that goalkeeper Federico Marchetti will feature because of a rib injury, which should hand an opportunity to Etrit Berisha between the posts.

As for Bayer, it is doubtful that new signing Aranguiz will start given that he has only recently started training following his exploits with Chile at the Copa America.

Lazio possible starting lineup:
Berisha; Lulic, De Vrij, Gentiletti, Basta; Parolo, Biglia, Onazi; Anderson, Klose, Candreva

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Leno; Hilbert, Tah, Papadopoulos, Wendell; Bender, Kramer; Bellarabi, Calhanoglu, Son; Kiessling

Head To Head

These two sides met twice during the group stages of the 1999-2000 tournament.

On both occasions there was nothing to split them, with the games ending in 1-1 draws. All four goals were scored in the first halves of those games, so a goal after the restart in the upcoming encounters would be a first.

One player that Leverkusen are likely to be wary of is Miroslav Klose. From his time in Germany with Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich, the experienced striker faced Bayer 23 times, from which he scored eight goals. The 37-year-old was also on the winning side on 11 occasions.

We say: Lazio 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen

The Serie A season is yet to start and while some will argue that it will mean Lazio are fresh, there could also be some rustiness about their play. Leverkusen may have only played one competitive game, but it could well make the difference in this encounter.

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