Feyenoord welcome Lazio to De Kuip on Wednesday in the Champions League in what is set to be a hard-fought encounter as both sides have very real ambitions of making it through to the knockout rounds.

Lazio have the slight edge after two matches thanks to their late draw with Atletico Madrid, while both have already recorded wins over Celtic in Group E.

Match preview

Making their first appearance in the competition since 2017, Feyenoord will see this as arguably their best chance of making it past the groups.

The 1970 winners have never progressed past a group stage, but they have shown enough signs to believe they can finish in the top two.

Feyenoord were much better than Celtic on the opening day, and the Dutch side were unfortunate in Madrid, losing 3-2 to Atletico despite leading twice at the Metropolitano.

With Lazio up next, facing the two clubs from the Italian capital is something Feyenoord are well accustomed to by now.

Lazio's cross-town rivals Roma have been the scourge of Feyenoord in Europe, beating them in the 2022 Europa Conference League final, as well as knocking them out of last season's Europa League.

The last time prior to that where Feyenoord progressed past the groups was in the 2014-15 Europa League, and Roma were on hand to knock them out that season too.

The Eredivisie champions enjoyed slightly more success when drawn with Lazio in the group stage of the Europa League season, beating them 1-0 here at De Kuip.

In a remarkable group where all four sides finished on eight points, it was the Dutch side which prevailed as group winners on goals scored.

That win over Lazio helped maintain a strong record against Serie A sides, as Feyenoord have lost just one of their last nine against Italian clubs at home.

Arne Slot's side should come into this one full of confidence too after yet another big victory domestically at the weekend.

A 4-0 win over Vitesse means Feyenoord have won seven league games in a row and have taken 23 points from a possible 27 to start the season, averaging over 3.5 goals-per-game.

While Feyenoord will be hopeful of progression, Lazio will too, and they have hit form at the perfect time as they seek a second straight group stage passage, after doing so on their last appearance in 2020-21.

Lazio have four points from their opening two Champions League games, but they have won them the hard way in what has been an incredibly dramatic start.

Maurizio Sarri has seen his side score 95th-minute goals to clinch a point against Atletico and to see off Celtic in Glasgow.

Ivan Provedel's remarkable late goal at the Stadio Olimpico on matchday one will take some beating as the moment of the season in this competition, but there were also delirious scenes when Pedro clinched the three points at Celtic Park.

That win at Celtic ended a 10-game winless streak away from home in this competition, so ending that barren run should give Lazio more confidence heading into another away trip.

Lazio have also turned a corner after a woeful start, as a routine 2-0 win at Sassuolo on Saturday means they have now won four of their last five games in all competitions.

That has come after winning just one of their first six which saw them down near the bottom, but the recent upturn means Sarri's side currently sit ninth in Serie A.

Team News

Despite a positive 4-0 win at the weekend for Feyenoord, it came at a cost, as both Santiago Gimenez and Yankuba Minteh picked up injuries which could see them miss out here.

Gimenez scored the only goal in their 1-0 win over Lazio last season, and his 13 goals from nine appearances so far will be a huge miss.

Croatian wide man Luka Ivanusec is doubtful for this one as he recovers from a minor ankle injury, while defender Gernot Trauner will be sidelined with a knee injury.

Ciro Immobile will be in contention to start for Lazio after he returned from the injury which kept him out of the Italy squad last week.

In his absence though, Taty Castellanos has come into form, scoring one and assisting another two in the two matches since Immobile's minor setback.

Mattia Zaccagni is set to come back into the side after being rested at the weekend, and he is likely to replace Pedro, who became Lazio's oldest Champions League goalscorer after netting the winner at Celtic.

Matias Vecino and Elseid Hysaj are in contention to start with Sarri likely to shuffle the pack a bit from the side which won in Reggio Emilia at the weekend.

Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Bijlow; Nieuwkoop, Geertruida, Hancko, Hartman; Wieffer, Zerrouki, Timber; Stengs, Ueda, Igor Paixao

Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provedel; Lazzari, Casale, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Guendouzi, Vecino, Luis Alberto; Felipe Anderson, Castellanos, Zaccagni

We say: Feyenoord 1-1 Lazio

In what is a very tight encounter on paper, fine margins are likely to be decisive in what could well be a straight shoot-out for second place in Group E.

Feyenoord will be heavily weakened if Gimenez misses out with injury though, as their top scorer was the difference between the sides in this clash last season.


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