Lazio – Cremonese

Cremonese will look to pick up points on the road.

Lazio earned a hard-fought victory in the last round. The Romans faced Parma away and had a great early chance to score. The Crusaders, though, tried to level the game, but were helped by Zaccagni. Late in the first half, the Eagles' captain received a straight red card. The measured second half was interrupted by Bajic, who decided to make things even harder for his team, leaving them with ten men. However, unexpectedly for everyone, it was Sarri's pupils who scored. In the 82nd minute Noslin converted his moment. Parma's attempts to restore parity did not bear fruit. In the previous round the Eagles shared the points with Bologna. The team has one defeat in the last five rounds. Cremonese faced Torino on Saturday. The Bulls, thanks to Vlašić's goal, went ahead as early as the 27th minute. Surprisingly, Nicola's men weren't really clicking at the maroon goal. In the second half the Grigiorossi did not create many chances, and the Turin side comfortably sealed the win. In the previous round Cremonese beat Lecce. A confident second half from Nicola's men was crowned by two goals, which brought a comfortable victory. Both Lazio and Cremonese overperform according to the xPTS metric. Thus, they were projected to earn 3.73 fewer points. Sarri's side, according to the xGA metric, are also underperforming by almost nine goals. The Grigiorossi could have earned 5.16 fewer points and conceded 9.47 more goals. Nicola's away form is worth noting; in eight away games the team lost only three times. Moreover, only the defeat to Inter (4:1) came by more than one goal. Cremonese away took points from Como (0:0) and Milan (2:1). The Biancocelesti won four of seven matches at the Olimpico. The main problem for the hosts will be squad issues. In addition to the injured players, the suspended Bajic and Zaccagni will not participate, as well as Dia and Dele-Bashiru, who were called up to the national team. Maurizio Sarri relies on a defensive game, and his team is not particularly prolific. But even without these factors, Cremonese should give the favorite a fight.