Europa League: Dragons And Romans Have Big Ambitions

Porto vs Lazio

Porto host Lazio in a Europa League play-off clash on Thursday and both teams have a very good chance to go deep into the competition.

The Dragons landed third in their Champions League group and that in itself was some achievement as they finished above Serie A league leaders Milan. Meanwhile, Lazio finished second to Galatasaray in their Europa League group and now must beat Porto over two legs to reach the Round of 16.

The latest outright Europa League 2022 betting odds have these two teams at an identical SBOTOP price of 24.00 to lift the trophy while Lazio have the tiniest edge in terms of who will qualify for the next round, priced at 1.90 with FC Porto at 2.00.

So, yes friends, this encounter is going to be a fascinating battle at the Estadio do Dragao between two well-matched sides. Porto come into the game on the back of a battling 2-2 draw with title rivals Sporting while Lazio beat Bologna 3-0, so both teams will come into the game with plenty of belief.

Talking Points

Dragons are breathing fire

Yesterday, we took a look at Lisbon’s clash with Manchester City in the Champions League, and now it’s the turn of Sporting’s fierce domestic rivals.

And Porto fans will gleefully point to the Primera Division table for evidence that they have the upper hand on the domestic front. The 2-2 draw played out between the two sides was a hot-tempered affair and Porto will be the happier of the teams having recovered from a 2-1 deficit in a game that saw five red cards.

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The draw left Sergio Conceicao’s side six points clear at the top of the Primera Division table with Sporting in second place.

Conceicao will have to regroup his side following the sale of top scorer Luis Diaz to Liverpool, but in Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi he has a strong player to lead the line. Taremi has 12 goals from 21 games and will give the Lazio defence plenty to think about.

The twice winners of the Europa League are skippered by experienced Brazilian centre-back Pepe but they will be without Wilson Manafa for this clash.

Immobile can fire Lazio to success

Now that the big hitters Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, Sevilla, and Atalanta have dropped into the Europa League, the likes of Lazio have drifted down the pecking order, but head coach Maurizio Sarri can have confidence in his squad of players to challenge for the trophy should they negotiate this tie.

They are in good shape in Serie A, sitting sixth and just four points behind Juventus in fourth and in Ciro Immobile they have the most consistent striker in Italy.

With 19 goals from 21 games, the Azzurri star leads the race for the Capocannoniere – a title he has won three times already and he is Lazio’s all time top scorer.

When Lazio met Atalanta recently, he drew a blank in a 0-0 draw, but that game was sandwiched by two more 3-0 victories in the league against Salernitana and Fiorentina.

Europa League: Lazio's Ciro Immobile is currently the top scorer in the Serie A — Lazio’s Ciro Immobile in action against AC Milan’s Mike Maignan

Immobile scored three more goals in those two matches. He’s on a hot streak of form and is a good bet to score against Porto on Thursday.

With only Francesco Acerbi on the injured list, Sarri has a strong squad to pick from.

History

Porto have had the better of their three meetings with Lazio as they’ve won two and drew once. Their last victory ended in a 2-1 scoreline in 2008.

Recent form favours the Portuguese side too since they have won five of the last six and drawing the other game, while Lazio have won four drawn one and lost one.

In fact, Porto are unbeaten in 12 games in all competitions and in seven matches at home, winning six and drawing one.

But the hosts have lost their last two home knockout matches in the Europa League, both times to German opposition Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen.

Betting Tip

	Porto vs Lazio	1X2 Draw @ 3.25
	February 18, 04:00 (GMT+8)

We’ll be back with the Europa League 2022 updates on Thursday night but in the meantime let’s make a call on this tie. Porto are at a price of 2.20 to win the fist leg with Lazio at 3.15.

Without Diaz, the hosts will be less of a threat while Immobile can hurt the Porto defence, and I expect Lazio to avoid defeat in the away leg. 2-3 goals at odds of 1.81 suggests a 1-1 Draw at 5.60 is a likely outcome and that would suit the Italians just fine, while Porto would still feel they are in the tie.