Lazio - Genoa
Both teams to score - 2,12
📝 Italian Cup is quite an interesting tournament, which has recently been significantly transformed and unlike other countries, all the top clubs here are trying to go as far as possible and win this trophy and the least sensational results, over the last 3 years, were in Italy.
LAZIO approaches the match in very good shape, after two victories over Cagliari and Celtic, although just after the match with Salernitana, the head coach of the Eagles, Sarri, talked about a possible resignation. According to the game in these matches, everything was not bad, but not perfect and there is a lot to pick on, and today's status of LAZIO in the match against Genoa, it is a bit, as far as I am concerned, exaggerated. Yes, the team is playing in a great calendar, where the third game in a row will be played in Rome, but the accumulated fatigue nobody cancelled. Romans play almost the same lineup, which can create some problems. Even in the match against Cagliari, when they played on the power play, it was evident how the team tried to optimise their game to save their strengths and play very rationally if possible, because of which after scoring a goal on 8 minutes, they played mostly on hold.
Genoa's results are much worse than LAZIO's, but the initial potential of the team is much lower and considering that they are building the club, practically from scratch, everything is going quite well. In the championship, they strongly emphasise home games, thanks to which they are far enough away from the relegation zone. The away games are still difficult to optimise and it's mainly because of problems in the squad. There is a lack of good players, who would be able to play in busy calendar periods, and also the lack of variation in attack is keenly felt. A lot of people are emphasising this today, giving Genoa little chance of success in the match and talking about a flawless win for LAZIO, although I would argue with that.
LAZIO is mostly a defensively orientated club, but they have plenty of problems in defence, especially in open play formats. And how can we play today against a closed Genoa if we don't play attacking football? In almost every match, LAZIO, playing first choice, is very vulnerable to counter-attacks, while Genoa have an excellent counter-attacking line, which can additionally use elements of high pressing and make their opponents make a lot of mistakes. It is also worth noting their excellent midfield, where there are versatile players who can play quite balanced, both offensively and defensively. The only point is that Genoa may not have enough energy for a full match, but 60-70% of the game time, they can play on par with LAZIO, without conceding anything.