On Saturday evening, Lazio and Juventus will clash heads at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Having represented the two sides back in his playing days, Stephan Lichtsteiner offered his thoughts on the upcoming fixture.

The Swiss played for the capital club between 2008 and 2011, before earning a switch to Turin. He later became one of the pillars at the club, playing a significant role in the club’s revival under Antonio Conte and beyond.

The former right-back believes that despite the Bianconeri’s weak start, they can still find their way back to the top, sharing his experience from the 2015/16 season, where the team found itself in an almost similar situation.

The retired player also spoke about Maurizio Sarri’s work since taking over at Lazio.

“Sarri has brought a new game system and different ideas, there have been some ups and downs, but the situation seems to be improving.  I like what I saw quite a lot,” said Lichtsteiner in an interview with la Gazzetta dello Sport via Calciomercato. 

“As far as Juve is concerned, they will be under a lot of pressure, as they can no longer make mistakes if they want to get back into the fight for the Scudetto. But I believe in it.

“I remember what happened in 2015/16. You have to win many consecutive games and find the right mentality, the one that always makes you take an extra sprint, the one that makes you close every path towards your goal, the one that makes you think positively.

“The details make the difference and we took care of them all. If Juventus now start doing it again, the comeback will be possible.”

However, the former Switzerland international admitted that the situation has become more difficult following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo who left the club last summer in favor of a return to Manchester United.

“For sure, without Cristiano Ronaldo everything is more difficult. He always scores, he’s a phenomenon.”