One of the blockbuster clashes of the calendar is coming up this weekend as Roma go head-to-head with Lazio in the Derby della Capitale at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma have lost only once in the ten games under new manager Daniele De Rossi as this recent surge in form has enabled them to vie for a top-four finish at the end of the season. The Giallorossi are five points away from 4th-placed Bologna in the league standings as they gear up to compete in the business end of the campaign strongly to qualify for the Champions League. De Rossi will hope to rally his troops in the right direction this weekend as a victory over their arch-rivals would set the morale high ahead of the Europa League quarter-final first-leg clash against league counterparts Milan. Roma have failed to score in each of the last four Rome derbies and they are in danger of extending that run to a consecutive fifth.
Meanwhile, Lazio approach this match on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Juventus in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia. Goals from Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic drowned the Biancocelesti as they will hope to make a comeback in the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico. Igor Tudor’s start to life at Lazio has been of mixed feelings as he earned a 1-0 over the Bianconeri in his debut match but followed that up with a defeat at the hands of the same opponents. Currently sitting 7th in the league standings, Lazio are six points short of Roma but they will aim to take the fight for a Europa League spot by challenging Atalanta.
Roma (4-3-3): Svilar; Karsdorp, Mancini, Llorente, Spinazzola; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Dybala, Lukaku, El Shaarawy.
Lazio (3-4-2-1): Mandas; Casale, Romagnoli, Gila; Marusic, Guendouzi, Cataldi, Felipe Anderson; Isaksen, Luis Alberto; Immobile.
