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Recommended bets
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Match preview
Can Lazio make home advantage count in this first leg?
Having dropped down from the Europa League, I Biancocelesti overcame Cluj in the previous round, with Ciro Immobile’s first leg volley the only goal of the tie.
Having watched fierce rivals Roma become the inaugural Europa Conference League winners just last season, Maurizio Sarri’s side are aiming to go all the way themselves.
Lazio will certainly come into this tie full of confidence, having beaten run-away Serie A leaders Napoli on Friday night.
Matías Vecino’s header seeing them leave Stadio Diego Armando Maradona with a shock victory.
This mean they’re now third, seeking to get back into the Champions League.
AZ Alkmaar’s form in Europe this season suggests they’re more than capable of causing an upset.
Including qualifiers, the Cheeseheads have won ten of 12 continental fixtures so far, scoring 30 goals.
Pascal Jansen’s side went straight through to this round by virtue of topping their group, swatting aside Dnipro-1, Apollon Limassol and Vaduz, but the difficultly level will certainly exponentially increase here.
Domestically, AZ are third in the Eredivisie, five points below the leaders, following Friday’s impressive 1-0 victory at Vitesse.
This tie is likely to be tight but, at Stadio Olimpico, Lazio are set to claim a first leg lead.
Lazio team news
Ivan Provedel is the regular number one but, having started both legs against Cluj, Luís Maximiano could be back in goal.
At the other end, Ciro Immobile is Lazio’s record goalscorer of all-time, with his 193rd for the club seeing them get through last month.
AZ Alkmaar team news
Star midfielder Dani de Wit as well as centre-backs Bruno Martins Indi and Sam Beukema are all out injured.
In de Wit’s absence, Đorđe Mihailović, who arrived from CF Montréal in January, will continue as the number ten.
Another winter singing Mat Ryan has immediately established himself as the number one goalkeeper, joining from FC København.
Vangelis Pavlidis is AZ’s main man for goals, with five of his 17 this season coming in the Europa Conference League.
Lazio vs AZ Alkmaar: Head to head statistics
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