Juventus vs. Lazio: 5 key players to watch on Saturday night
Juventus will face Lazio on Saturday night at the Juventus Stadium, having just won 3-0 against Spezia. Their first half against the lower-table Serie A side was a disaster, but they more than bounced back in the second half once Alvaro Morata came off the bench to give the Bianconeri a true striker.
Let’s take a look at five key players to watch in this weekend matchup between Serie A’s third and seventh-best teams.
All choices are based on La Gazzetta dello Sport’s expected lineups.
Juventus FW Cristiano Ronaldo
We begin with Cristiano Ronaldo, who has now scored in each of his last three Serie A appearances and is on five goals in his last five league appearances. The Portuguese superstar bagged his 20th goal of the campaign on Tuesday night vs. Spezia, and he stands a good chance of adding more to his tally against a Lazio defense that is even more undermanned at center back than the Bianconeri.
Patric could be in for a nightmare of Bayern proportions against Serie A’s best goal-scorer. Ronaldo is in the mood to break records whenever he gets on the pitch, and he has the opportunity to make a statement against a tough Lazio side if he can pick apart the best matchup.
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Lazio CM Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
Nicolo Barella has been getting a lot of shouts as the best midfielder in Serie A, but I still think the honors go to Serbian international Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. The man is an all-around beast of a midfielder on both ends of the pitch, and his production speaks for itself.
Milinkovic-Savic could absolutely own a weak, injury-depleted Juventus midfield. He has five goals and seven assists this season. WhoScored.com credits him with at least one tackle per game, interception per game, foul drawn per game, key pass per game, and dribble completed per game. Basically, this man can do it all, and Juventus must be keenly aware of his superstar talent.
Juventus LM Federico Chiesa
Whether he starts on the left or on the right, Federico Chiesa is going to be vital to Juve’s success on Matchday 26 of Serie A.
Chiesa was Juve’s Player of the Month for February, and he carried that form into Tuesday’s big win over Spezia. The Fiorentina loanee scored a goal and registered two tackle and two key passes for another all-around brilliant performance. Just 23, Chiesa is already Juve’s second-best player behind only Cristiano Ronaldo this season. He just might need to have a Man of the Match-caliber performance again this weekend in order for the Old Lady to get past a hungry Lazio side.
Lazio CM Luis Alberto
If Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is Lazio’s star player, then Luis Alberto is not far behind him. The Spanish international is one of the classiest players you’ll find in Serie A, and it’s a shame more fans around Europe still haven’t realized exactly how much of a chance-creating machine this man is.
The 28-year-old shockingly doesn’t have any assists this season, but he’s second on Lazio with seven goals and is their leader in key passes per game and dribbles completed per game with 2.1 and 1.7, respectively. Again, Juventus is lacking in the midfield department, and Luis Alberto, like his partner-in-crime SMS, can take advantage big-time.
Juventus CM Weston McKennie
To counter Lazio’s midfield duo of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Luis Alberto, Juventus have the young Weston McKennie, who has been the Bianconeri’s best goal-scoring midfielder in the 2020-2021 season thus far.
The American fully earned his permanent transfer from Schalke to Juve, as he is fourth on the team in goals in Serie A with four. McKennie also has two assists to go along with some quality defending at the heart of the midfield.
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Better than Adrien Rabiot, McKennie is expected to start alongside the maddeningly inconsistent French midfielder this Saturday night at the Juventus Stadium. He must be the one to take on the initiative and show his star power against a legitimately great Lazio midfield. The Bianconeri simply cannot count on anyone else.