One of the most eye-catching fixtures on the Serie A calendar pits Roma and Lazio against each other in the 159th top-flight Derby della Capitale. The two top-four hopefuls will face each other at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday late afternoon, with just one point separating them ahead of the kick-off.
Fourth-placed Roma hold the bragging rights following a thumping 3-0 triumph over Lazio in March and could register back-to-back Serie A shutouts against arch-rivals for the first time since 2013/14. Jose Mourinho’s men come into proceedings on the back of a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Ludogorets in midweek Europa League action.
Captain Lorenzo Pellegrini slotted home two second-half penalties drawn by Nicolo Zaniolo to sink the Bulgarians and snatch Roma’s place in the competition’s knockouts at the death. Therefore, the Giallorossi will take the field in high spirits, less than a week since pushing Lazio out of the top four with a last-gasp 3-1 win at Hellas Verona.
Unlike their long-standing rivals, Lazio suffered a 1-0 defeat at Feyenoord in the final round of Europa League Group F and will continue their continental journey in the Europa Conference League. Santiago Gimenez’s second-half winner crushed the Italians’ dream of reaching the knockout stages for the second season running.
Despite being level on points with the Dutch outfit and second-placed Midtjylland, an inferior H2H record dropped the Biancocelesti out of Europe’s second-tier competition. Lazio’s path to redemption begins this weekend as they aim to take all three points and Roma’s place in the Serie A standings.
Match Preview
Roma
Roma have only lost two of their last 24 Serie A matches against Lazio as nominal hosts (W14, D8), with their most recent defeat dating back to April 2017. Since then, the Giallorossi have racked up four wins from five such match-ups (D1), netting 2+ goals in each victory.
But if you’re looking for an omen, Roma have lost both previous top-flight meetings with Lazio contested in the first half of the season, conceding three goals on both occasions. Mourinho’s team could buck that trend on Sunday.
Among the top-seven sides in the current Serie A standings, Roma have improved the most in terms of points compared to last season. They have picked up 25 points after the opening 12 top-flight rounds, six more than at this stage of the 2021/22 campaign.
Lazio
Lazio fell to an embarrassing 3-1 home defeat to mid-table Salernitana last weekend despite boasting a 1-0 lead at halftime. After seeing their six-game unbeaten Serie A streak go out of the window (W5, D1), Maurizio Sarri’s men will be desperate to make a statement on Sunday.
The past seven days have not been kind to Lazio, but they are still safe in the knowledge they’ve not lost back-to-back league games for a year. It’s also worth noting that only Juventus (seven) have conceded fewer Serie A goals than the Biancocelesti (eight) this season.
Sarri remains hopeful of having his standout performer Ciro Immobile back in the fold after a muscle injury. The Italian striker is Lazio’s third best-ever scorer in the Serie A Derby della Capitale with four goals, highlighting his importance to this squad.
Roma vs Lazio Potential Line-ups
Roma (3-4-2-1): Rui Patricio; Gianluca Mancini, Chris Smalling, Roger Ibanez; Rick Karsdorp, Bryan Cristante, Nemanja Matic, Nicola Zalewski; Nicolo Zaniolo, Lorenzo Pellegrini; Tammy Abraham.
Lazio (4-3-3): Ivan Provedel; Manuel Lazzari, Nicolo Casale, Alessio Romagnoli, Adam Marusic; Matias Vecino, Danilo Cataldi, Luis Alberto; Pedro, Felipe Anderson, Mattia Zaccagni.