Lazio vs Roma

One of the most heavily anticipated fixtures on the Serie A calendar pits the Stadio Olimpico tenants Lazio and Roma against each other in the latest edition of the famous Derby della Capitale.

Consistency has massively plagued Lazio’s bid to replicate last season’s stunning success when they finished runners-up to Napoli in Serie A, with Maurizio Sarri’s side completing a perfectly-balanced 11-game league start (W5, D1, L5) with a 1-0 defeat at Bologna last time out. But ‘I Biancocelesti’ finished on the right end of that scoreline in midweek Champions League action, beating Feyenoord at home to bolster their hopes of making it out of the group stages. Those form oscillations only support the fact Lazio fans cannot know which version of their side they’ll get on a given day, though a four-game winning streak on home turf makes for good reading. As does the fact Lazio overcame Roma in both Serie A encounters last season, winning both legs 1-0.

Not long ago, Roma would be in the driver’s seat as far as avenging last season’s double is concerned, but the feels have come off lately, with Jose Mourinho’s side losing two of their three most recent competitive matches ‘to nil.’ While a late 1-0 league defeat at Inter Milan was hard to digest, slipping to a 2-0 loss at Slavia Prague in midweek Europa League action was unforgivable for the way they played. Thankfully for ‘I Giallorossi,’ they’re only nominal visitors in this fixture, which is a good thing, knowing they’ve lost three of their last five competitive games outside the Olimpico (W1, D1). By contrast, they’ve emerged victorious in their last six matches in Rome, netting an incredible 18 goals while conceding just one in return.