The two great powerhouses of the Eternal City, SS Lazio and AS Roma, will measure forces at the Stadio Olimpico for round 37 of the Italian Serie A.
The Derby della Capitale is always a very important match and this season is no different. In fact, the next Monday’s derby will probably be one of the most important of the last decade, since both teams are separated in the league table by only one point.
Under the helm of Stefano Pioli, who has only arrived at the team last Summer, Lazio have transformed themselves and, according to pundits, they were one of the best teams of the tournament. Pioli was the sparkle Lazio needed to bounce back after last season’s disappointing campaign and, with just two matches until the end of the present edition of Serie A, Le Aquile are just one point behind their neighbours and eternal rivals of AS Roma.
After an impressive but at the same time complicated win at Luigi Ferraris against Sampdoria last weekend, Lazio failed to overcome the all-powerful Juventus on the Coppa Italia final and ended up by losing the match 2-1 on extra-time. The defeat against the Vecchia Signora might have a negative effect on Stefano Pioli’s men, who will surely do everything within his reach to rally the troops and recover them from the midweek huge disappointment.
As for AS Roma, the Lupi have shown worrying signs of inconsistency this season and weren’t able to offer Juventus proper competition for the Serie A title.
AS Roma have only won three of their last seven matches and some of their performances were far from impressive. After losing to AC Milan at San Siro two weeks ago, the Lupi reorganized themselves and granted a vital win against Udinese last weekend.
Despite his fabulous job last term, Roma’s manager, Rudi Garcia, was heavily criticized for some periods of time this season as his team’s performances were leaving something to be desired.
Lazio
Stats: W-2 L-2 D-1
Recent Form – LWLDW
Roma
Stats: W-3 L-2 D-0
Recent Form – WLWWL
