Roma vs Lazio
Italian Serie A
Date: Sunday, 30th April 2017
Kick-off at 11:30 UK / 12:30 CET,
Venue: Stadio Olimpico (Rome).
Lazio head coach Simone Inzaghi is determined to upset the odds and lead the Biancocelesti to victory over Roma in Sunday's Derby della Capitale.
The Rome rivals have already played each other three times this season, with Lazio losing to the Giallorossi in the first Serie A meeting before winning the Coppa Italia semi-final over two legs.
That counts for nothing now, however, as second-placed Roma are 11 points better off and displaying distinctly better form as the league campaign enters the final furlong.
Lazio would do their rivals serious damage by triumphing in the derby as Roma still have a sniff of beating Juventus to the Scudetto following the reigning champions' draw at Atalanta on Friday.
And the Biancocelesti, who are seven points behind third-placed Napoli in the nearest Champions League place, have their own lofty ambitions to worry about.
Quoted by the club's official Twitter account, Inzaghi said: ``We haven't qualified for Europe quite yet. We've got a few tricky games ahead of us and the first one is against Roma, who'll be the favourites.
``We're trying to prepare well for this game, like we've done before all the others.
``I'm expecting the lads to demonstrate a winning mentality like they did in both legs of the Coppa Italia semi-final. We have to be brave and make the most of our strengths.
``We know how important the derby is to our fans and we will do everything we can to defy the predictions.''
Inzaghi would rather the capital-city showdown was being played under floodlights, rather than in the midday sun, and he added: ``I will say that I'm not a big fan of the lunchtime kick-off, the last two nighttime derbies had amazing atmospheres.''
Barring injured goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, every Lazio player is at Inzaghi's disposal, although he has doubts over his preferred formation and personnel.
Alessandro Florenzi is Roma's only confirmed absentee. The attacking full-back suffered a fresh anterior cruciate ligament injury setback in February.
Forward Stephan El Shaarawy believes the Giallorossi have work to do to rubber-stamp their automatic qualification for the Champions League group stage, as Napoli are only four points behind.
He told asroma.com: ``We have three tough games coming up one after the other, but finishing second is very important to us.
``I expect it will be a tense encounter, as it always is. Tough and intense. But we're in good form at the moment - we were excellent against Pescara (a 4-1 win) and we're full of confidence.
``I get a special feeling inside me when the derby comes around. But we need to treat it like any other game. We need to win to keep Napoli at arm's length.''
Roma vs Lazio: Head-to-head statistics
Roma have a record of W16-D3-L1 in their last 20 home games against teams ranked below them in the table.
Lazio have a record of W3-D4-L13 in their last 20 away games against teams ranked above them in the table.
The Giallorossi are undefeated in 27 of their last 28 home matches.
Lazio are undefeated in 10 of their last 11 matches.
The Aquile have scored at least 2 goals in 5 of their last 6 away matches.
However, they have conceded at least 2 goals in their last 3 matches.
Roma are undefeated in 19 of their last 21 home matches against Lazio in all competitions.
The Lupi have scored at least 2 goals in their last 4 home matches against Lazio in all competitions.
Roma vs Lazio: Prediction
Roma have been quite formidable at the Stadio Olimpico, winning 14 out of their 16 games at this ground. They have also netted in every single one of their home matches. Meanwhile, Lazio have netted an impressive 60 goals so far and have scored at least two goals in five out of their last six away games. That being said, they have conceded at least two goals in their last three, and overall, have conceded in nearly 80 per cent of their games.
All signs point to an open end-to-end match with plenty of goals at both ends. Roma have a very tough run of fixtures coming up; after this, they take on Juventus and AC Milan. Fans could be in for a real thriller, and there will be more than just three points on the table as bitter rivals meet in the fourth Derby della Capitale of this season.
Roma vs Lazio: Betting tips
Over 2.5 goals at 4/9 (1.45).
DRAW and BTTS – YES at 10/3 (4.33).
