Venezia vs Lazio - prediction, team news, lineups
By Jonathan O'Shea | 16 Sep 2026 16:53
Still unbeaten in Serie A this season, Lazio will look to extend their strong start on Saturday evening, when they visit Venezia at Stadio Penzo.
Despite spilling a two-goal lead last week, the Aquile can fly to Venice with 10 points from a possible 12; meanwhile, their promoted hosts have yet to get off the mark.
It was a classic tale of two halves for Lazio last weekend, as they stormed into a commanding position at home to AC Milan before conceding twice after the break.
Gennaro Gattuso's side at least stemmed the tide and preserved a valuable point, while keeping their unbeaten league record intact.
Since being dumped out of the Coppa Italia by Mantova on Gattuso's dugout debut, the Biancocelesti have put together an impressive run of results.
First, they beat Bologna at Stadio Dall'Ara, then edged past both Genoa and Udinese largely thanks to Davide Frattesi goals.
Lazio's tally of 10 points from four games represents their joint-best start to any season this century - they also posted 10 at this stage in 2017-18.
Naturally, Gattuso will aim to continue that run this weekend, when his side visit one of Serie A's early strugglers.
Seven games and a quarter of a century have passed since Venezia's last league victory over Lazio, summing up the size of their task.
Including that success in January 2000 - under a relatively youthful Luciano Spalletti - all six top-flight wins against the Biancocelesti have come on home turf at Stadio Penzo.
That was the venue for a chaotic clash with Fiorentina last time out, when Giovanni Stroppa's side initially led through Akor Adams but ended up losing 4-2.
Following another display riddled with errors, Venezia have now conceded 11 goals in Serie A - and a further four in the cup - with most arriving inside the final half-hour.
Crowned Serie B champions in May, the Lagunari's top-flight return has produced no points so far, and they face a tough fixture list either side of the international break.
After Lazio visit Venice on Saturday, Stroppa's squad must meet Atalanta in Bergamo and welcome Napoli to the Penzo.
Once again, Andrea Pinamonti and Tijjani Noslin will vie to lead the visitors' attack, with either being supported by Mattia Zaccagni.
Lazio's captain has laid on assist in both of their last two matches, and he will feature on the left side of a front three.
Gattuso is still missing Adam Marusic and Nicolo Rovella due to injury, but Fisayo Dele-Bashiru is back in full training, while defensive duo Patric and Danilo Doekhi may be ready to return.
If available, the latter pair would compete with Josip Sutalo and Diogo Leite to partner Oliver Provstgaard at centre-back.
Meanwhile, Venezia are currently without a long list of players, including Marin Sverko, Bartol Franjic, Andrea Adorante and Armel Bella-Kotchap; the presence of Toma Basic is in some doubt.
Club captain Gianluca Busio has also been ruled out by a muscular injury sustained in the defeat to Fiorentina, further deepening Stroppa's selection woes.
Stankovic; Schingtienne, Moreno, Jesus; Hainaut, Sohm, Helgason, Perez, Correia; Yeboah, Adams
Mandas; Mussolini, Sutalo, Provstgaard, Tavares; Frattesi, Belahyane, Taylor; Cancellieri, Pinamonti, Zaccagni
Amid an ongoing fan boycott and turmoil off the pitch, Lazio seem to have been united by Gattuso, who is set to record another win.
With a leaky defence and several injuries, Venezia will surely suffer defeat once again, extending the wait for their first point this season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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