Juve On Course For Coppa Italia Glory

Juventus have the opportunity to claim the second leg of what would be an unprecedented treble for the club if they can defeat Lazio in Wednesday’s Coppa Italia final.

Form
Newly-crowned Serie A champions Juve are now six games without defeat following a 2-1 victory over Inter last weekend after going a goal down in the early stages at the San Siro. There’s been little let-up from Massimo Allegri’s side in recent weeks despite the league title being a foregone conclusion for quite some time with only one defeat in ten. Although they have at least shown signs of being fallible of late after conceding in each of their last four games and six out of the previous seven.

With an enormous 16-point cushion to second place it might be of little surprise then that they’ve the most wins, fewest defeats, most goals scored and least conceded as well as possessing the best home and away records in a Italian top flight the Old Lady has ruled imperiously all season.

With 29 goals in all competitions – including 20 Serie A goals to make him the division’s top marksman – Carlos Tevez has enjoyed a terrific season in Turin, while Alvaro Morata has scored in each of his last two appearances.

Lazio continue to occupy the final Champions League qualifying spot in Serie A with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sampdoria on Saturday which left the Romans in the driving seat to rejoin Europe’s elite competition next season and just a point adrift of bitter local rivals Roma in second-place. A record of two wins in six has somewhat stalled the momentum for Stefano Pioli’s side over recent weeks although a run which saw them unbeaten in ten prior to that has put them on a brink of arguably the most successful season for the club for the best part of a decade.

Record German international goalscorer Miroslav Klose has proved he’s still a striker to be reckoned with thanks to 14 goals in total for the Biancocelesti this season in total.

Team News
Allegri could afford to rest the majority of his regular starting XI at the weekend with the likes of Tevez, Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo, Giorgio Chiellini and Arturo Vidal all given the night off but likely to be restored from the start here. Martin Caceres remains Juve’s only injury doubt.

Lazio have a whole host of injury concerns to deal with however with Lucas Biglia, Lorik Cana and Ederson all expected to miss out and further doubts over the fitness of Senad Lulic, Danilo Cataldi and Diego Novaretti ahead of the showpiece event.

Head-to-Head
Juve won both league meetings between the teams this season without conceding a goal with Tevez scoring in both games – most recently the opener in a 2-0 victory in Turin – and Paul Pogba grabbing a brace in Rome last November.

Lazio’s only win in their last 15 encounters with the Old Lady came during their run to Italian Cup glory in 2013.

Recommended Bets
With the triumvirate of a superior and rested side, in good form and with an excellent record over these opponents, it only makes sense to take a Juventus side here at 11/10 to win the game in normal time.

The underdogs will doubtlessly attempt to stifle their opponents though so it could prove a cagey affair and so the 10/11 on under 2.5 goals is worth a wager too while the 23/10 on Juve to lead at half-time and full-time is another good punt.