Preview: Lazio vs Udinese - prediction, team news, lineups

After booking their place in the cup final with a dramatic shootout success, Lazio will return to Serie A duty on Monday, when they welcome Udinese to Rome.

Reaching the Coppa Italia decider could rescue a sub-par season, but the visitors can reduce their deficit to one point by beating the Biancocelesti at Stadio Olimpico.

Match preview

Keeping themselves in contention for an eighth national cup triumph, Lazio progressed to the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday night, as they overcame Atalanta on penalties.

Alessio Romagnoli's late strike looked set to seal a 3-2 aggregate win in Bergamo, but La Dea instantly fought back and pushed the tie into extra time.

Lazio eventually prevailed after a penalty shootout that was littered with misses, booking a showdown with Inter Milan, as reserve goalkeeper Edoardo Motta wrote his name into club history by producing four saves.

Having previously eliminated last year's finalists - Bologna and AC Milan - they have taken a tough route through to the final, which will be played on home turf next month, but first they must resume a less stellar league campaign.

Maurizio Sarri's men only sit ninth in Serie A and are at risk of missing out on Europe for a second straight year, meaning their best route back into UEFA competition would be claiming the Coppa Italia.

While still inconsistent, results have certainly picked up, and they finally ended Napoli's long top-flight unbeaten streak at Stadio Maradona last week.

Indeed, Lazio have won four of their last six league matches - as many victories as they managed across the previous 17 - and Wednesday's cup win will have done wonders for confidence in the camp.

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Lying just four points behind their hosts in mid-table, Udinese are unlikely to feel any fear before making the long trip down to Rome.

A late Keinan Davis strike secured one point from this season's reverse fixture, which was played at the tail end of last year, while the Friulani are unbeaten in five straight away games against Lazio.

Furthermore, since the start of March, Kosta Runjaic's side have beaten both Fiorentina and AC Milan 3-0, in addition to drawing with European contenders Atalanta and Como.

Udinese have also conceded just one goal across their last four matches, albeit that lone strike cost them a 1-0 home defeat to Parma last time out.

Intent on bouncing straight back - and boosting their hopes of a top-half finish - the Bianconeri now aim to post three consecutive Serie A away wins for the first time since 2022.

Lazio Serie A form:

W W W D L W

Lazio form (all competitions):

W W D L W W

Udinese Serie A form:

D L W D W L

Team News

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Lazio must do without key defender Mario Gila, who limped out of Wednesday's cup clash with an ankle injury, so Oliver Provstgaard should partner Romagnoli at the back.

Right-back Adam Marusic is also a doubt, while playmaker Nicolo Rovella certainly joins first and third choice goalkeepers Ivan Provedel and Alessio Furlanetto on the sidelines again. 

With Daniel Maldini, Tijjani Noslin, Boulaye Dia and Petar Ratkov all struggling to fill the void left by West Ham United's Taty Castellanos, wide men Matteo Cancellieri and Gustav Isaksen are the hosts' joint-top scorers with a meagre four league goals so far.

By contrast, Davis - who made his Serie A debut against Lazio and scored a last-gasp leveller in December's reverse fixture - has hit double figures this season.

However, he is not due back from his latest injury layoff until next week; notably, Udinese only average 0.7 points and 0.5 goals per game without him, while that rises to 1.4 and 1.3 respectively when the English striker starts.

Nicolo Zaniolo filled in against Parma, but Adam Buksa, Vakoun Bayo and Idrissa Gueye are all available if Runjaic opts for a more traditional centre-forward at the Olimpico. 

Jordan Zemura and Nicolo Bertola are still injured, and the Bianconeri must replace captain Jesper Karlstrom, who will serve a one-match ban for accumulated bookings. 

Lazio possible starting lineup:

Motta; Lazzari, Romagnoli, Provstgaard, Tavares; Basic, Cataldi, Taylor; Isaksen, Noslin, Zaccagni

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Okoye; Kristensen, Kabasele, Solet; Ehizibue, Piotrowski, Zarraga, Kamara; Ekkelenkamp, Atta; Zaniolo

We say: Lazio 1-1 Udinese 

Even though Lazio will be in great spirits after their last two results, Udinese are a tough nut to crack and pose a real threat on the break.

So, as both teams are coasting towards a mid-table finish, they may settle for a low-scoring draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.