It’s that time of year again and on Saturday evening, Lazio welcome rivals Roma to the Stadio Olimpico as they don their Serie A visitors caps for the Derby della Capitale.
There’s no denying how massive a rivalry this game is in Italian football as most believe it to be the fiercest in the country, and in world football it certainly takes its place on the list as one of the most heated and emotional footballing battles out there and there is often an unwanted undercurrent to the 90 minutes amongst those more extreme fans on both sides of the Stadium.
Whilst the more unfriendly side of the rivalry can dominate the headlines, on the pitch, the game will certainly have an edge to it. Roma occupy fifth place in the table going into the game and are six points clear of Lazio in sixth spot – the hosts for this encounter do have a game in hand though, so there’s potentially more than just bragging rights up for grabs this weekend.
Roma have had the edge in results in more recent times, and for 2018/19 they secured a 3-1 victory back at the end of September in the opening tie of the campaign, and Lazio will be determined to balance that up.
As usual, it’s going to be a largely tight and feisty affair and it comes down to who shows the most composure when chances come their way. Few would put money on a fifth draw (although you can with Betway) going back to 2007 – there is usually a winner.