AZ Alkmaar travel to Rome to face Lazio in the Europa Conference League’s glamour tie in the round of 16.
With Italian clubs remaining in Europa League and Champions League, Lazio are forced to play the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico on a Tuesday evening.
Pascal Jensen will be looking to keep their European form going as they eye a place in the quarter-final of UEFA’s third-tier club competition after finishing top of group E with five wins in the group stage.
For Lazio, meanwhile, Maurizio Sarri will be keen to continue his side’s progress in the competition after seeing off Romanian side Cluj in the knockout round play-offs.
Like their rivals and current holders Roma, Lazio dropped down from the Europa League group stage and are tipped as one of the favourites to win this year’s contest too.
Here is the form in all competitions:
Lazio: W-W-D-W-W
AZ: L-W-L-W-W
Team news
Lazio’s squad is in top condition ahead of this match, and Sarri is expected to have a full squad at his disposal. There were no injuries against Napoli last Friday so we could see an unchanged squad from the hosts.
Pedro is the man pushing hardest for a spot in the side, with Felipe Anderson’s place in doubt. However, Ciro Immobile will continue to spearhead the Italian team’s attack.
AZ, on the other hand, have a number of injury issues, with Maxim Dekker, Zinho Vanheusden, Riechedly Bazoer, Dani de Wit, Sam Beukema, Sem Westerveld and Bruno Martins Indi all likely to miss out. Fortunately, they have no fresh concerns from their victory over Vitesse last time out, so Jansen could decide to name the same team in a 4-3-3 formation.
Vangelis Pavlidis has been in sensational form this season, having scored 17 goals in all competitions, and the 24-year-old will lead the line for the Dutch outfit.
