Lazio will look to maintain their unbeaten record in the Europa League as they host Real Sociedad on Thursday. The Italians have been the team to beat in the competition and although the visitors are showing some quality lately, a home win is still expected here.
After three matches without a victory, Lazio made a timely return to winning ways last time out as they eased to a 3-0 victory at Verona in a Serie A fixture last Sunday. Samuel Gigot, Boulaye Dia and Mattia Zaccagni were all on target in both halves for the capital club.
While Lazio are trying to shake off a recent slump, results like that have been rampant in the Europa League where they are top of the table having won five of their six matches so far. Marco Baroni’s men scored first in all five wins and claimed a 3-1 victory at Ajax in their previous fixture in the competition.
Real Sociedad are also playing well in the Europa League, winning three of their last four matches to stay one point behind the top eight. Imanol Alguacil’s men beat Dynamo Kiev 3-0 in their previous fixture in the competition.
The Spanish club have also won three of their last four matches in all competitions but will travel to Italy off the back of a 1-0 defeat at Valencia in the La Liga. That result means they have now lost two of their last three matches on the road while their last away fixture in the Europa League ended in a 2-1 loss at Viktoria Plzen.
How the bookies view it: Italians backed to win
Lazio are considered overwhelming favorites among the bookies and are priced at 5/4 by BoyleSports to claim the win. A victory for Real Sociedad is valued at 21/10 while BoyleSports are also offering odds of 2/1 for a draw.
Players to watch: Boulaye Dia to star
Boulaye Dia has caught the eye for Lazio lately and has scored in the last two matches in all competitions. The forward will be the one to watch on Thursday and is priced at 5/2 by BoyleSports to get on the score sheet.
Mikel Oyarzabal has also been in good form for Real Sociedad and has scored six times in the last 10 matches in all competitions. The forward also netted a brace in the win over Dynamo Kiev in their previous Europa League fixture and is priced at 5/2 by BoyleSports to find the net on Thursday.
Probable line-ups
Patric, Manuel Lazzari and Matias Vecino are the only players ruled out with injury for Lazio. Dia should start in attack alongside Valentin Castellanos while Gigot should retain his place at the heart of the defence.
Real Sociedad remain without Arsen Zakharyan and Hamari Traore who are currently sidelined with injury. Jon Aramburru was suspended for the game with Valencia over the weekend and should return to the defence on Thursday while Takefusa Kubo could also be handed a start in attack.
Lazio: Provedel, Hysaj, Gigot, Gila, Tavares, Guendouzi, Dele-Bashiru, Isaksen, Dia, Zaccagni, Castellanos
Real Sociedad: Remiro, Elustondo, Aramburru, Aguerd, Lopez, Gomez, Zubimendi, Mendez, Kubo, Becker, Oyarzabal
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have quality going forward and can be backed to score on Thursday at 5/6 with BoyleSports. Real Soceidad have seen over 2.5 goals in four of their last five Europa League matches and a similar outcome is priced at 23/20 by BoyleSports, who are also offering 3/1 for over 3.5 goals.
Lazio have opened the scoring in five of their last six Europa League matches and are priced at 20/23 by BoyleSports to grab the opening goal.
This UEFA Europa League match between Lazio and Real Sociedad will be played on Jan 23, 2025 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Lazio vs Real Sociedad prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
