Lazio will look to continue its solid Europa League campaign when its takes on Turkish side Fenerbahçe.
Lazio enters the match without having suffered a single defeat in the tournament. After winning three and drawing three in the group stage, the Italian side has won three of its four matches in the knockout stages. The team battled to a 3-3 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach in a match where the Italians blew a 2-1 lead and had to score a stoppage time goal to salvage the draw. However, the team bounced back to take home a 2-0 win and earn a 5-3 aggregate score. In the round of 16, Lazio destroyed another German side 5-1 over two matches. Stuttgart fell 2-0 in the opening leg and then lost 3-1 in the second match.
Meanwhile Fenerbahçe has not lost since its last match of the group stage against Borussia Mönchengladbach. However in the round of 32 the team defeated BATE Borisov 1-0 over two legs and then took down Viktoria Plzeň 2-1 in two legs.
The Turkish side knows that it is not the favorite, but Coach Aykut Kocaman believes that his team can pose a great challenge for the Italians.
"We want to take a lead into the second leg," said Kocaman. "We will play a very hard game, a very big game. This is a two-legged situation, not a league game. We want to compete but will be conscious that this is the first leg, not the deciding match in the tie."
"We have had to play a number of very difficult and talented teams along the way, but Lazio are a step up from that," he added. "[Miroslav] Klose is a very famous player. He will be one of the key men for Lazio, though the tie will be won by team work, not individuals. It will be breathless and will go to the last minute."
Prediction: Lazio wins 1-0.
Start Time: 3:05 PM EST
TV: Sky Calcio 1