The Rosanero will be hoping to continue their great home record; while Lazio will be looking to make a strong case for the final Champions League position.
Palermo will be entertaining Lazio in matchday 24 game of the 2011/12 Serie A campaign on February 19 at 19:45 GMT.
Bortolo Mutti’s men come into this game on the back of a 2-1 defeat against Cagliari recently.
On the other hand, the Biancocelesti suffered a 3-1 thrashing at the hands of Atletico Madrid in a UEFA Europa League game.
The two teams played a goalless stalemate in the earlier fixture of the ongoing campaign at Stadio Olimpico Rome.
Palermo
The Rosanero have been in scintillating form of late, excluding their last match against the Rossoblu. They have won three of their last four Serie A encounters.
Palermo’s home form has been extremely impressive this season, as they have won nine of the 11 matches at Stadio Renzo Barbera. Only Udinese boast more home wins in the Serie A than the Sicilian outfit. However, the Pink-Blacks
have scored the most goals while playing at home.
Lazio
The capital side is placed third in the Serie A standings with 42 points from 23 games. The Biancocelesti have kept 10 clean sheets in the league this season. However, their major concern is their abysmal away form recently. Edy
Reja’s men have won only six of the 11 games played on the road, and have ended up conceding 11 goals in their last five matches away from Rome.
Their last five matches have yielded three wins and two defeats. Comparing their performance in the league, Lazio are a point and a league position better off than what they were at this stage last year.
Team News
Palermo
The host’s have only one main injury concern, as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Abel-Hernández-c3432.
Probable starting line-up: Viviano, Pisano, Silvestre, Mantovani, Balzaretti, Migliaccio, Donati, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barreto-c7308, Zahavi, Harnandez, Miccoli.
Lazio
The Biancazzurri have witnessed a host of injury concerns this season, and are still without the service of many of their first-team regulars. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Stefano-Mauri-c34055 is the latest player to join his team-mates on the treatment table after
he picked up a knock in the match against Atletico Madrid. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Abdoulay-Konko-c3249 and Diakite are suspended for the match against Mutti’s men.
Probable starting line-up: Marchetti, Scaloni, Zauri, Stankevicius, Radu, Ledesma, Matuzalem, Gonzalez, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hernanes-c16150, Lulic, Klose
Players to watch
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fabrizio-Miccoli-c13236 (Palermo)
The Nardo born striker has been in scintillating form for the Rosanero in the recent matches, and has been pivotal in Palermo’s victories this season. The skipper has scored 10 goals in the league so far, and will once again be
a key figure if Palermo are to continue their impressive home record.
Hernanes (http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lazio-c39775)
The Lazio midfielder has been in prime form this season, and has played a huge role in his team’s recent wins over A.C Milan and Cesena. The Brazilian has formed a great link-up with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Miroslav-Klose-c26049, and together they have scored
18 goals for the Young Eagles.
Prediction:
It promises to be a mouth-watering contest between the two in-form teams, with goals written all over it. Lazio will be hard pressed with their make shift back-four, and the Palermo attacking threat might be too much to handle
for them. Verdict 2-1
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