Lazio vs Roma preview

April 1, 2016
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Lazio vs RomaThe 2-1 victory in last year’s Derby della Capitale pushed Roma towards automatic Champions League berth and the Giallorossi will be hoping for more of the same when they face arch rivals Lazio on Sunday afternoon.

The Biancocelesti are nowhere near top 3 positions this term unlike last season, but a victory over Roma would certainly make a disappointing campaign a bit easier to bare.

While they enjoyed a breakthrough season last term, Lazio have been utterly disappointing this season and it is now clear they will not be playing European football next year.

The Biancocelesti were eliminated out of both Coppa Italia and Europa League, while their league campaign has been pretty disappointing as well.

With Lazio slipping to eighth in the standings, coach Stefano Pioli is under pressure ahead of Derby della Capitale, where his side are 3.70 (27/10) to emerge victorious.

The talented tactician, however, faces severe selection issues considering that Senad Lulic is suspended and Stefan Radu, Stefan de Vrij, Ricardo Kishna, Abdoulay Konko and Santiago Gentiletti are all injured.

The good news is that Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Dusan Basta have a good chance to recover in time from muscle problems.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Marchetti – Patric, Hoedt, Bisevac, Braafheid – Parolo, Biglia, Cataldi – Candreva, Matri, Anderson.

Just like their local rivals, AS Roma looked to be heading towards a poor season, but the arrival of Luciano Spalletti changed everything for the Giallorossi.

The Stadio Olimpico outfit not only closed the gap behind their top 3 rivals, but created a five-point cushion in the race for the final Champions League berth.

While crashing out of the Champions League, AS Roma have won eight of last nine league fixtures, with 1-1 draw against Inter Milan ending their eight-match winning run.

The Giallorossi head into the local derby in much better mood than the opposition and they can be backed at 2.20 (6/5) to claim maximum points.

Coach Luciano Spalletti does not have too many selection worries, with only Norbert Gyomber missing with a broken finger.

Seydou Keita has resumed full training, but William Vainqueur is rated doubtful after picking up an adductor injury in training.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Szczesny – Florenzi, Rudiger, Manolas, Digne – Nainggolan, De Rossi, Pjanic – Salah, Perotti, El Shaarawy.

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