ROMA VS LAZIO TIPS: DERBY DELLA CAPITALE TO DOMINATE SERIE A STORYLINES
Champions League places are on the line with just three points separating four teams from second to sixth, including Roma.
Sunday’s Rome Derby, therefore, arrives wrapped in even more drama than usual.
The Derby della Capitale was only confirmed for an earlier midday kick-off after days of chaos between Serie A and local authorities, adding another layer of tension to one of football’s fiercest rivalries.
For Roma and Lazio, there is no room for error now.
Local bragging rights are always at stake but, with a top-four finish still hanging in the balance, this latest chapter promises to be one of the most intense in recent memory.
Here are some tips to whet the appetite…
Tip 1 – Roma to score 3+ goals @ 41/20
The hosts are in a rich vein of form in front of goal.
They have bagged 13 in their last five matches in all competitions and seven in their last two thanks to a comfortable 4-0 win at home over Fiorentina and a 3-2 win away to Parma.
That’s not all. Roma have bagged three or more goals in five of their last seven home matches in all competitions.
The Stadio Olimpico is being treated to some late-season fireworks and we think there will be more of the same.
Tip 2 – Donyell Malen to score @ Evens
Inter’s Coppa Italia final victory over Lazio has guaranteed Roma a place in next season’s Europa League.
That means the condition in Donyell Malen’s €25m move from Aston Villa has now been activated, with a mandatory purchase clause included if Roma secured qualification for either the Champions League or the Europa League.
That will delight Roma fans, who have been blown away by the flying Dutchman this season.
He has 14 goals and two assists in 18 matches since making the switch, smashing the Serie A record for a January signing, and we like him to get on the scoresheet again here as he seals his future.
Tip 3 – Both teams to score no @ 17/20
Despite our prediction for plenty of Roma goals, we don’t see this being reciprocated by the other side.
Recent history tells you exactly why.
Only one of the last nine clashes between Roma and Lazio has seen both sides find the net, with the derby usually turning into a cagey, low-margin battle.
That trend fits the expected script here. Roma come in as the stronger side and, if they deliver the heavy win we’re predicting, it likely comes with defensive control rather than a shootout.
A 3-0 home success looks far more plausible than Lazio breaching a Roma backline that has bagged three clean sheets in the last five matches.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change
