Are you ready for the first Derby della Capitale of the season? On Sunday, arch-rivals Roma and Lazio will do battle at the Stadio Olimpico.
The two sides are separated by a solitary point in the Serie A table, with fifth-place Roma leading sixth-place Lazio.
Although Napoli have set a flying pace in the race for the Scudetto, Roma and Lazio will be confident of cementing a top-four berth before the World Cup break.
Roma have won eight of their 12 Serie A games this season, meaning only first-place Napoli have secured more victories in Italy’s top tier.
Not only have Jose Mourinho’s men won four of their last five league outings, but they have also won six of their previous nine.
It is worth noting that Roma are the lowest scorers in the top eight, having netting 16 goals in 12 games (1.3 goals per game).
On Thursday, Roma beat Ludogorets 3-0 in the Europa League. As a result, they qualified from Group C after winning three of their six matches.
As for Lazio, they have lost just two of their 12 league matches this season – picking up seven wins and three draws along the way.
Only three sides have scored more goals than Lazio’s 24, while only Juventus have conceded fewer goals than Lazio’s eight. Consequently, the Eagles have the second-best goal difference in the division.
Lazio head into Sunday’s showdown on a run of one loss in seven Serie A matches, having claimed five wins and one draw before losing to Salernitana last weekend.
Sadly, Lazio did not enjoy the same success as Roma on Thursday. After losing 1-0 to Feyenoord, the Eagles dropped out of the Europa League with a third-place finish in Group F
Head-to-head: Across the past nine Serie A meetings between Roma and Lazio, we have seen three Roma wins, three Lazio wins and three draws.
Each of the last eight league meetings have produced over 1.5 goals, while five have dished up over 2.5 goals. For that reason, Sunday’s clash should be a high-scoring affair.
Team news: Roma have a number of notable injury absentees at the moment, including Nicolo Zaniolo, Paulo Dybala and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Lazio are still without talismanic striker Ciro Immobile as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
Given Roma’s struggles in front of goal this season, free-scoring Lazio are expected to claim the Derby della Capitale bragging rights this time around.
Forbet predicts that Lazio will score over 1.5 goals on their way to beating Roma, although Mourinho’s men are expected to put up a strong fight.