Serie A
Derby della Capitale Preview
Rome comes to a stand still this weekend as the first Derby della Capitale takes place.
- Date: Sunday, September 1, 2019
- Time: 12 p.m. (EST)
- Network: ESPN2
- Location: Rome, Italy
- Venue: Stadio Olimpico
- Capacity: 72,698
Lazio take on Roma in the first Derby della Capitale of the season at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday afternoon.
It will be the first Rome derby for new Roma manager Paulo Fonseca. The former Shakhtar boss endured a disappointing start to the new Serie A season.
The Giallorossi fumbled the lead three times at home against Genoa and had to settle for a point.
Meanwhile, Lazio got off to the perfect start by defeating Sampdoria away from home thanks to a double from Ciro Immobile and a goal from Joaquin Correa.
Lazio will be full of confidence going into this derby having beaten Roma the last time both sides met in March.
Team News
For Roma, Leonardo Spinazzola and midfielder Diego Perotti are both ruled out due to injuries.
That could mean Davide Zappacosta could make his first start since joining from Chelsea on loan.
Meanwhile, Lazio are at full strength with key player Sergej Milinkovic-Savic crucial to their success in midfield.
Previous Meetings
Lazio hasn’t managed two consecutive victories against Roma in Serie A since 2012.
Last season, both ‘home sides’ came out on top with Roma winning 3-1 in September and Lazio winning 3-0 in March.
This is the earliest ever Derby della Capitale in the history of Serie A coming in only week 2 of the season.
Roma haven’t won an away derby since 2016 and haven’t scored in their last two away Derby della Capitale’s.
Predicted Line-Ups
Lazio (3-5-2): Strakosha; Luiz Felipe, Acerbi, Radu; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Parolo, Luis Alberto, Lulic; Correa, Immobile
Roma (4-2-3-1): Pau Lopez; Zappacosta, Fazio, Juan Jesus, Kolarov; Cristante, Pellegrini; Cengiz Under, Zaniolo, Florenzi; Dzeko
Derby della Capitale Match Prediction
The Derby della Capitale is notoriously hard to call. Normally the form book goes out the window.
Lazio got off to a great start to the new season and looked very impressive against Sampdoria.
There appears to be some momentum building for Simeone Inzaghi’s side. Winning the Coppa Italia last season will give them real confidence going into this campaign.
Also, managing to keep star player Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is a huge boost. Roma on the other hand have lost key players in the summer with the likes of Stephan El Shaarawy and Kostas Manolas both leaving the club.
Defensively, Roma were abysmal at home against Genoa and a defeat against their great rivals would pile pressure on new boss Paulo Fonseca.
It will be interesting to see if the addition of Chris Smalling, who signed on loan from Manchester United, will help their defensive struggles.
After missing out on the Champions League last season, Fonseca knows they have to return to Europe’s top club competition this campaign.
A win against one of their rivals for a top four finish would go along way to doing that, even at this early stage.
They have the players going forward to cause Lazio problems with Cengiz Under and Nicolo Zaniolo.
However, the big question will be whether they will able to keep them out defensively.
There has only been one goalless draw in the last ten Serie A Rome derbies so expect goals in this one.
Prediction: Lazio 2-1 Roma
Written by David Coates
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