2026–2027 Preseason Friendlies: Ascoli vs. Lazio, Probable Lineups

This is the second friendly match in just over 24 hours for Gennaro Gattuso’s Lazio, which—following Saturday morning’s 6-3 victory over Avellino—will face, on Sunday evening at 8:45 p.m., another Serie B club: Ascoli, which was recently promoted after winning the playoff final against Union Brescia. The match will be played at the “Cino e Lillo Del Duca” stadium, home of the Bianconeri del Piceno.

This is Ascoli’s second preseason match, once again against a top-flight team: in their first game, played last Monday, they lost 1-0 to Frosinone on a goal by Colley in the 63rd minute. The Marche-based club will continue to rely on on Francesco Tomei, the architect of last season’s promotion following a journey that was anything but easy—one that began with victories over Potenza and Catania and concluded with a two-game playoff victory against the club that inherited the sporting legacy of Brescia Calcio.

Lazio is a team that remains a mystery heading into the upcoming season: in its first two friendlies, it scored a whopping 12 goals (split evenly between a 6-0 win over Flaminia and a 6-3 win over Avellino), but it also made headlines for the spat between Gattuso and the Dutchman Taylor and, more generally, for a low-key transfer window that has led organized fan groups to continue their boycott of owner Claudio Lotito: according to data provided by Calcio & Finanza, 93.3% of season ticket holders for home games in the 2025–2026 season did not renew for 2026–2027.

Probable Lineups

ASCOLI (4-2-3-1): Vitale; Alagna, Curado, Nicoletti, Guiebre; Corradini, Acampora; De Pieri, Perciun, D’Uffizi; Gori. Head Coach: Tomei.

LAZIO (4-2-3-1): Motta; Lazzari, Provstgaard, Doekhi, Pellegrini; Rovella, Taylor; Fernandes, Noslin, Zaccagni; Artistico. Coach: Gattuso.