Interest in the Serie A has dissipated—look no further than the half-empty stadiums for proof—but nothing will provide a greater shot in the arm than Lazio's visit to Juventus. The first-division clash scheduled for 2:45 p.m. ET can be live streamed here free.
One Intoxicating Shot
As if facing one of Italy's most in-form sides wasn't bad enough, Juventus face the daunting task of doing so just days after an emotional 1-0 victory over AS Monaco in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Arturo Vidal on the spot was enough for the Old Lady to hold an aggregate lead over their French counterparts. Now, the club must attempt to refocus on match that has little-to-no meaning.
While a Lazio victory would see Juventus' lead in the table drop to nine points, it's still a nine-point lead with just seven match days remaining. Saturday's result will prove to be of little consequence, even less so with the return leg against Monaco just three days away.
Given all those caveats, you try to find the motivation for what should be considered a trap game.
The In-Form Player
Alvaro Morata continues to troll Real Madrid on a week-in, week-out basis. While Los Blancos suffer through Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez sucking the life out of the bench, Morata is enjoying a successful spell in Turin. In 24 appearances, with only eight serving as starts, the 22-year-old has seven goals and four assists.
Projected Lineups
Juventus' (3-5-2): Buffon; Chiellini, Bonucci, Barzagli; Evra, Pereyra, Pirlo, Vidal, Padoin; Tevez, Morata
Lazio's (4-2-3-1): Marchetti; Lulic, Mauricio, Cana, Basta; Cataldi, Biglia; Candreva, Mauri, Anderson; Klose
Updated League Table
| Rnk | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juventus | 30 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 57 | 15 | 42 | 70 | |||
| 2 | Lazio | 30 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 58 | 28 | 30 | 58 | |||
| 3 | AS Roma | 30 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 41 | 22 | 19 | 57 | |||
| 4 | Napoli | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 50 | 37 | 13 | 50 | |||
| 5 | Fiorentina | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 43 | 34 | 9 | 49 | |||
| 6 | Sampdoria | 30 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 38 | 31 | 7 | 49 | |||
| 7 | Genoa | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 42 | 34 | 8 | 44 | |||
| 8 | Torino | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 35 | 32 | 3 | 43 | |||
| 9 | AC Milan | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 44 | 37 | 7 | 42 | |||
| 10 | Internazionale | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 46 | 37 | 9 | 41 | |||
| 11 | Palermo | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 42 | 44 | -2 | 38 | |||
| 12 | Sassuolo | 30 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 36 | 45 | -9 | 35 | |||
| 13 | Chievo | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 22 | 31 | -9 | 35 | |||
| 14 | Udinese | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 33 | 41 | -8 | 34 | |||
| 15 | Empoli | 30 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 30 | 36 | -6 | 33 | |||
| 16 | Verona | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 36 | 54 | -18 | 33 | |||
| 17 | Atalanta | 30 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 26 | 41 | -15 | 29 | |||
| 18 | Cesena | 30 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 28 | 53 | -25 | 22 | |||
| 19 | Cagliari | 30 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 35 | 58 | -23 | 21 | |||
| 20 | Parma | 30 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 24 | 56 | -32 | 12 |
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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