Can Lazio Become A Sleeper Candidate In The Serie A Title Race?

The Serie A title race has been tighter than expected this season. There is no doubt about that. Many experts believed Juventus were going to cruise their way to another relatively easy league crown, but that has not been the case so far.

The Old Lady are sitting in a somewhat strange third position after this weekend’s slate of games. Napoli sit at the top of the standings with 24 points after winning their eight games, and Inter Milan sit in second place just two points back. All three should be among the contenders for the title until the final weeks of the season. However, there is one team no one has been talking about. And that’s Lazio.

Yes, you read that right. Lazio have a deep, talented squad, and they could easily mount a title challenge in the current season. They evidenced their power when they defeated Juventus last week. And even though they sit in the same third place as Juventus with 19 points, it is not out of the question to see them making a push towards the top of the standings.

A Deep, Talented Squad On Both Ends Of The Pitch

It only takes a look at their squad to see how good they are, and how good they can become as the season progresses. They have one of the best up-and-coming goalkeepers in the league in Thomas Strakosha, and a solid defensive line where names such as Stefan Radu and Stefan de Vrij appear as leaders.

Lazio’s real strength, however, lies in the middle of the pitch. Players like Marco Parolo and Lucas Leiva offer balance, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Senad Lulic act as more creative threats. And they don’t even have one of their best players available, as Felipe Anderson has been sidelined due to injury. One can only dream on how good Lazio would be with Anderson roaming on the left side of the attack.

Manager Simone Inzaghi – the former striker who played for Lazio and Piacenza, among others – only uses one attacker, but Lazio are fortunate enough to have the most in-form forward in all of Europe. He goes by the name of Ciro Immobile.

With 15 goals in 12 matches across all competitions this season, Immobile is the biggest threat for Lazio on the attack. And while it is hard to imagine he will maintain this form during the entire campaign, Lazio need to take advantage of his form for as long as they can. They have other interesting attacking options such as Luis Alberto, Felipe Caicedo and Nani, Immobile is the main weapon of the squad. And Lazio will go as far as he can take them.

As we can see, Lazio certainly have a talented squad. But is that enough to compete against the likes of Juventus, Napoli, and Inter for the Serie A title?

Biggest Threats On The Title Race

Juventus, Napoli and Inter are, in fact, the biggest title threats. And all of them have enough quality to fully deserve the “candidate” label.

Napoli have Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne, Jose Callejon and Marek Hamsik as star players. Juventus have a deadly duo of Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain, as well as others such as Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Blaise Matuidi and Miralem Pjanic. And Inter have one of the most underrated teams in Europe, led by names such as Mauro Icardi, Ivan Perisic and Borja Valero.

Lazio will have a tough time trying to get on top of them. But they already sit near the top of the standings, and have looked impressive to start the season. The talent is there. They only need consistency to keep themselves alive in the title down the stretch. And if that’s the case, anything can happen.

One thing is clear, though. Lazio are good enough to be where they are.