A 180th competitive Rome derby since the inaugural Serie A (SA) season in 1929/30 will see Lazio face off with eternal rivals Roma amid a hotly contested battle for the top four places and Champions League football next season. The Eagles hold a two-point advantage over their old foes and will be looking to bounce back after being eliminated from the UEFA Europa Conference League, following a 4-2 aggregate loss to Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar. Coach Maurizio Sarri admitted that Lazio ‘deserved to go out’ claiming the squad ‘doesn’t have the structure to play more than one competition at a time.’
After a run of three straight SA wins, talismanic striker Ciro Immobile’s absence was felt as Lazio drew 0-0 at Bologna last round, and they could be in for another struggle here against their fierce rivals with their star player set to miss out again. Their focus may shift to prioritising defence which has already kept 15 SA clean sheets this term, including six in their last ten such outings (W5, D4, L1), with only Barcelona having more (19) in Europe’s top five leagues.
A goalless draw away to Real Sociedad was enough for Roma progress to the Europa League quarter-finals, with José Mourinho appreciating his players for their ‘sacrifice’ to play through injuries. His charges will have to do without him once more here as he is serving a two-game touchline ban in SA, which led him to the decision not to speak to the media until it‘s over.
Mourinho‘s absence was felt at the Stadio Olimpico in their last league outing, as Roma fell to a 4-3 defeat against Sassuolo and complicated their fight for the top-four with their second defeat in three SA matches (W1). Both defeats also saw Roma concede the opening goal within the first 20 minutes of play, so they’ll hope that the derby atmosphere focuses their minds from the off as they look to end a run of six winless games in this famous fixture as the designated away side (D2, L4).
Players to watch: After netting the winner in the 1-0 reverse H2H success, Felipe Anderson became the joint-highest Brazilian scorer in Rome derby history with three, while he also opened the scoring in the midweek defeat at AZ. Roma’s Paulo Dybala has netted 11 goals against Lazio in his career, while he’s also scored 29 goals from outside the area since his arrival in SA – more than any other player in that period.
Hot stat: Lazio have conceded only four goals before the break in SA matches – the fewest in Europe’s top five leagues.
