Zenit Saint Petersburg and Lazio meet at Saint ‑ Petersburg Stadium, in a match for this stage of the UEFA Champions League (Group Stage). This will be the first direct confrontation between these two teams, as they have never met before.
Zenit :
The home team enters this 3rd round of Group F in 4th position, without any points won, after 2 defeats. In their first match in this group stage, they lost at home to Club Brugge, by (1‑2). On matchday two, they lost away to Borussia Dortmund by (2‑0). In their last match, for the Premier League, they beat Khimki away by (0‑2). In their last 10 home games, Zenit Saint Petersburg has recorded 8 wins and 2 losses. Their defense has not been very strong, as they have suffered goals in 7 of the last 10 matches, but their offense has scored regularly, as they have scored goals in 8 of the last 10 matches. In their home matches there is a tendency for goals, as in 24 of their last 28 matches there were Over 1.5 goals and in 20 of the last 28 there were Over 2.5 goals.
Zenit Saint Petersburg comes to this match after a 2-0 victory over Khimki for the Russian championship: the team’s goals were scored by Aleksandr Erokhin and Andrey Mostovoy. It should be noted that the local team lost both games for the Champions League, against Club Brugge and Borussia Dortmund. In this match against Lazio, coach Sergei Semak must maintain the 4-3-3, with Sebastián Driussi, Aleksandr Erokhin and Artem Dzyuba the team’s forwards. The last mentioned athlete is Zenit’s top scorer, with 7 goals. For this game the coach of the house cannot count on Malcom, due to physical problems.
Lazio :
The visiting team comes to this 3rd round of Group F in 1st position, with 4 points won, after 1 victory and 1 draw. In their first match in this group stage, they won at home against Borussia Dortmund by (3‑1). On matchday 2, they tied in an away match against Club Brugge by (1‑1). The team comes to this match after an away win against Torino by (3‑4). In the last 10 away matches for all competitions, Lazio won 4, drew 2 and lost 4. The team allowed goals to the opponent in 7 of the last 10 matches, so their defense needs to improve, But their attack has scored regularly, having scored goals in 8 of the last 10 games. In the last 5 home matches for all competitions there are 2 periods that stand out: they have scored 3 of their 7 goals between minutes (0’‑ 15 ‘); they have conceded 3 of their 7 goals between minutes (31’ ‑ 45 ‘).
Lazio comes to this game after a 3×4 victory in the visit to Torino, thus registering the fourth consecutive game without losing in official matches: the team’s goals were scored by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Andreas Pereira, Felipe Caicedo and Ciro Immobile. On the last day of the Champions League, the Italians drew 1×1 with Club Brugge. In this match against Zenit St. Petersburg, coach Simone Inzaghi must keep the team in the usual tactical system, 3-5-2, favoring the maintenance of ball possession and organized attacks through the flanks. Italian forward Ciro Immobile is Lazio’s top scorer, with four goals scored. For this game, the visiting coach cannot count on Silvio Proto and Senad Lulic, both injured. Quarantined are Stefan Daniel Radu, Luis Alberto, Manuel Lazzari, Djavan Anderson and Gonzalo Escalante.
