Lazio vs Roma: Who’ll draw first blood in opening Derby della Capitale of the season?
It’s set to be a very interesting clash when Lazio and Roma lock horns in this season’s first Derby della Capitale on Sunday. As usual, the famed Stadio Olimpico will play host as these two bitter city rivals duke it out for all three points. There’s also an interesting Chelsea connection, as both Maurizio Sarri and Jose Mourinho managed the London giants respectively, and both have also won some silverware during their time with the Blues. Both tacticians are with Lazio and Roma after being sacked from Juventus and Tottenham and thus will feel they have something to prove as they undertake new challenges in Italy.
Lazio, who will serve as “hosts” in Sunday’s match, started the season off brightly, and after two rounds was one of five teams who had picked up six points. However, since then it’s been a downward trend. The Aquile lost to Milan 2-0 on matchday three, and have since gone on to end up drawing Cagliari (2-2) and most recently, Torino (1-1). Sarri’s men were also beaten 1-0 by Galatasaray in their Europa League group stage opener, meaning that it’s been four games sans a win for Lazio ahead of this contest.
That being said, the Biancocelesti have been quite solid at home, where they’re still unbeaten in their last 15 home Serie A games. However, their record in the Derby della Capitale isn’t in the hosts’ favor, as they have won 39 times (while Roma has won 55). And although they did win 3-0 in this same match last season, they ended up losing 2-0 when they served as the “away” team in the reverse fixture.
Roma, meanwhile has gone from strength to strength since Mourinho took over earlier this year. The Giallorossi did suffer a shock loss to minnows Hellas Verona, but that’s the only blemish on an otherwise excellent record. So far, the Lupi have won seven of their other eight matches across all comps, including an excellent showing in the inaugural Europa Conference League against Eastern European outfit CSKA Sofia, during which they cruised to a 5-1 win.
Since the shock defeat to Hellas Verona, Roma has since bounced back, grinding out a gritty 1-0 win over Udinese. That victory, however, came at a high price as Lorenzo Pellegrini was sent off in rather controversial fashion, leaving the Giallorossi to play with ten men for the last minutes of the match, and thus means that Pellegrini will miss out here. In-form striker Tammy Abraham proved to be the hero of the day, scoring the only goal of the tie in the first half and all eyes will be on him to see if he can be a protagonist in this highly-awaited tie.
Another player who’ll be looking to be a protagonist of his own is none other than Ciro Immobile. The experienced striker, who was part of Italy’s EURO 2020 winning squad has faced his fair share of criticism in failing to translate his club success to the international level, but this season again has no problems finding the back of the net for Lazio. With six goals, he’s an early contender for another Capocannoniere, although Inter’s Edin Dzeko is in hot pursuit.
Both teams have pretty much full strength teams, although Roma will be missing Pellegrini due to the aforementioned suspension while Lazio will have to make do without Mattia Zaccagni due to injury. It’s also set to be a very interesting match for Pedro, as the Spanish winger is now on the books at Lazio and will be eager to prove a point after being jettisoned by Mourinho and making a late transfer window switch across town to the Biancocelesti. Pedro notably is the first player to complete a direct transfer between the two bitter capital rivals since shot-stopper Astutillo Malgioglio also moved from Roma to Lazio back in 1985.
As is the case in all derbies, there will be more than just three points at stake here. Who will draw first blood in what should be a very intriguing Derby della Capitale clash between two managers with a shared history?
