Lazio vs Viktoria Plzen

Lazio will battle for Europa League victory against Viktoria Plzen while leading with a single-goal advantage following their remarkable away success last week.

Both Lazio players and fans will begin the game at Stadio Olimpico with their single-goal leading advantage as the team battles to play against Bodo/Glimt or Olympiacos in the quarter-finals.

Lazio completed their route to the Europa League last 16 by obtaining the leading position in the inaugural league phase and then completed their visit to Pilsen for the first leg at Stadion mesta Plzne.

The visitors from Rome had their first matchup with the Czech team that ended up with an unbelievable final minute goal by Marco Baroni's mostly weakened squad of nine players.

With two players dispatched during the match, Isaksen scored a late goal to give Lazio their first victory in UEFA Cup/Europa League history at a 2-1 deficit or draw with only nine men on the field.

The team has achieved their highest victory total from a previous Champions League season (8) and their ultimate European goal is to win their first cup since 1999.

After qualifying for the Europa League round of sixteen the Lazio squad wants to finish inside the top four Serie A standings to secure Champions League places next season.

The Serie A fight for fourth position continues between Lazio, Bologna, Juventus and Fiorentina along with Roma after they shared one goal apiece in their Monday match against Udinese at home. Center-back Alessio Romagnoli added to his recent scoring form with a goal.

The Bologna match on Sunday comes after Inter must secure their victory against Plzen. Their history of making twelve Europa League home successes since 2019 remains untainted yet they have succeeded in only a single victory from their last seven two-bread European competitions so the team must not relax during this time.

Before last week's clash, Viktoria Plzen had an impressive Europa League home record, winning 10 of their last 12 matches and losing just once. However, after failing to capitalize on a two-man advantage, they now face the challenge of securing a victory in Rome.

Last season, Plzen reached the quarter-finals of the Conference League, and their journey to the Europa League last 16 this year was anything but straightforward. Finishing outside the top eight, they had to battle through the knockout playoffs to earn their spot.

Miroslav Koubek's squad set up their encounter with Lazio by overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit, ultimately sealing progression with a dominant 3-0 victory over Ferencvaros. Now, they need a similar comeback at Stadio Olimpico.

Currently sitting third in the Czech league, Viktoria played out a goalless draw against FK Pardubice last weekend, keeping them 12 points adrift of leaders Slavia Prague. That result means they have managed only two wins in their last five outings across all competitions.

Aside from their recent form, history does not favor Plzen heading into Thursday’s match. They have lost five of their six previous games in Italy, including the last four consecutively.

Moreover, their struggles in away fixtures continue in the Europa League, where they have secured just two wins in their last 18 road matches, suffering 11 defeats. To advance, they must achieve something they haven’t done in a decade—win an away knockout game, a feat last accomplished in February 2014.