Middle of the week in Italy brings highly-anticipated Derby della Capitale between Lazio and Roma, who are locking horns in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.

Lazio to end poor run

Biancocelesti head into the Wednesday’s Derby della Capitale eager to end their miserable run against AS Roma, which saw them lose all of their last four meetings with the city rivals. In fact, it was in 2013 that Lazio last managed to beat Giallorossi in this very same competition, and Simone Inzaghi’s men will be highly determined to win. Heading into the two-legged tie against the Romans, Lazio are looking to extend their positive run which saw them win four and draw one of their last five matches in all competitions. Inzaghi will be relying on the fine form of his striker Ciro Immobile who scored three goals in his last five Coppa Italia matches. Lazio striker got his name on the score sheet in Lazio’s last game at the weekend, when he scored a penalty kick winner against Udinese, which helped Biancocelesti to the fifth place in the Serie A standings.

Federico Marchetti remains the only unavailable player for the hosts ahead of the first semi-final leg, whereas Lucas Biglia’s Serie A suspension will not affect his appearance in the Cup competition.

Roma looking to finally make it work

Giallorossi have been eliminated in the semi-finals of the last two editions of the Coppa Italia, and Luciano Spalletti’s men are on a mission to end the poor trend and grab the opportunity to fight for the trophy. This is the second time Roma are facing Lazio in the semi-finals of the competition and Romans will most certainly look to use their positive Coppa Italia score against Lazio to record another win and make it five in a row when it comes to wins over Biancocelesti. Luciano Spalleti’s men are coming off from a convincing 3-1 win over Inter Milan and will be extremely motivated to take another high-profile scalp. Captain Francesco Totti is particularly fired up for another clash with the city rivals as the Roma captain has so far scored as many as 11 goals against the fierce rivals. However, none of those came in the Coppa Italia and Totti is hoping he will be given a chance to break the duck after five missed attempts.

Alessandro Florenzi is nursing his ACL injury and will not be able to help his teammates against Lazio, whereas Emanuele Spinozzi is another name on the injury list for the Romans.

Verdict

Giallorossi know their way around with Lazio and are tipped to continue their winning run against Biancocelesti to five in a row. Both sides are heading into the Coppa Italia semi-finals in good form and we are, above all, expecting a highly-contested match.

Top pick: AS Roma   2.40 (7/5) @WilliamHill

Alternative pick 1: Over 2.5 goals   1.90 (9/10) @188Bet

Alternative pick 2: Both teams to score – yes   1.67 (4/6) @Ladbrokes