Lazio vs CFR Cluj Match Analysis & Prediction
16/02/2023 11:00 pm
Italian outfit Lazio welcome Romanian side CFR Cluj to the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday night as the Europa Conference League knockout stage kicks off.
While the hosts dropped out of the Europa League after finishing third in their group, the visitors secured their spot in the knockouts by finishing second in Group G.
Group winners Feyenoord progressed to the round of 16, while FC Midtjylland advanced to the knockout round playoffs after finishing second, meaning that Lazio were forced to settle for a spot in the Europa Conference League due to their inferior goal difference.
After beginning their Europa League campaign with a 4-2 victory over Feyenoord, Lazio suffered a 5-1 defeat to Midtjylland before recording back-to-back draws against Sturm Graz.
The Eagles managed to gain their revenge on Midtjylland with a 2-1 victory, but a 1-0 defeat to Feyenoord saw the Italian club finish third in Group F and drop into the Europa Conference League.
Domestically, Maurizio Sarri’s side have slipped to sixth in the Serie A table following a 2-0 defeat to Atalanta on Saturday, so Lazio will be eager to register a positive result in the first leg, having won just two of their last eight league matches.
CFR Cluj had to come through three qualifying rounds to reach the Europa Conference League group stage, seeing off Inter Club d’Escaldes, Shakhtyor Soligorsk and Maribor on their way to the competition proper.
After picking up a single point from their opening two group matches, it looked as though Cluj’s European journey would end before the turn of the year, but they turned their campaign around.
Dan Petrescu’s side ended up winning three of their final four group matches to snatch second place in Group G, securing successive victories over Slavia Prague before beating KF Ballkani to book their ticket in the knockouts.
That said, Cluj have struggled for consistency in the Romanian top flight recently, losing three of their last five league matches without scoring.
Having endured a poor run of form in recent weeks, Petrescu will be hoping that his side can rediscover the performance levels that saw them qualify for the Europa Conference League knockout stage.
Lazio vs. CFR Cluj Head to head
These two teams have previously met on just two occasions in the Europa League back in 2019, where they each recorded one victory while scoring two goals each in the process.
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19/09/2019CFR Cluj2Lazio1Europa League
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28/11/2019Lazio1CFR Cluj0Europa League
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16/02/2023N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
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16/02/2023N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
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16/02/2023LazioN/ACFR ClujN/AEuropa Conference League
Lazio Team News
Lazio will be without the suspended Luka Romero on Thursday, as the winger picked up a red card in the final Europa League game back in November.
The injured duo of Alessio Romagnoli and Stefan Radu will also be absent for the hosts, with the former sustaining a hamstring injury in last weekend’s defeat to Atalanta.
Lazio's Last 5 Matches
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24/01/2023Lazio4AC Milan0Serie A
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29/01/2023Lazio1Fiorentina1Serie A
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02/02/2023Juventus1Lazio0Coppa Italia
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06/02/2023Verona1Lazio1Serie A
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11/02/2023Lazio0Atalanta2Serie A
CFR Cluj Team News
Cluj have reported no fresh injury issues ahead of the first leg, meaning that Petrescu will field a full-strength starting XI for this contest.
Ciprian Deac has bagged five goals and 11 assists across all competitions this season, so the winger should join Claudiu Petrila and Emmanuel Yeboah in attack.
CFR Cluj's Last 5 Matches
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16/01/2023CFR Cluj2Heidenheim2Club Friendlies
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23/01/2023FCV Farul Constanta0CFR Cluj3Liga I
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30/01/2023Voluntari0CFR Cluj1Liga I
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05/02/2023CFR Cluj0FCSB1Liga I
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11/02/2023Universitatea Craiova2CFR Cluj0Liga I
Lazio vs. CFR Cluj: Odds and Predictions
Main Prediction
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