Roma host local rivals Lazio in a Serie A fixture that could have implications in the race for a place in Europe next season. The Rome derby is often a closely fought affair and with little to separate both teams at the moment, they are likely to cancel each other out.
After a difficult start to the season, things appear to be looking up for Roma in recent weeks. They are through to the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League after seeing off Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem 2-1 on aggregate.
Roma's recent resurgence means they are currently on a 12-match unbeaten run across all competitions. They were held to a 1-1 draw at Udinese last time out with Lorenzo Pellegrini’s injury time effort earning them a share of the spoils.
While Roma are attempting to return to Jose Mourinho’s trademark defensive solidity, recent results have shown a little vulnerability which could be exploited by Lazio. They have been made to come from behind in their last two matches against Udinese and Vitesse Arnhem.
Lazio hold the advantage in the race for a European finish and are currently fifth on the table, one point above Roma. Having crashed out of other competitions they also have no further distractions and can focus their full attention on domestic matters.
Like their rivals, Lazio are also attempting to get their season back on track after a few stumbles in recent weeks. They have won their last two matches and claimed a 1-0 victory over Venezia in their previous Serie A fixture.
Another similarity with Roma is that Lazio have also not been particularly convincing at the back lately. Maurizio Sarri’s men are technically the visitors on Sunday and have kept just one clean sheet in their last four away matches across all competitions.
How the bookies view it
The bookies appear to be split on this one with SBK offering 48/29 for a Roma win while a victory for Lazio is valued at 37/20 by Unibet. A draw is set at odds of 12/5 by SBK.
Head to head
Roma have a 24-19 advantage with 20 draws from 63 previous matches with Lazio. Both teams have claimed one win each in the last two meetings with Lazio running out 3-2 winners in the reverse fixture back in September.
Players to watch
Tammy Abraham was on target in Thursday’s Europa League fixture against Vitesse and will be the one to watch for Roma. The striker has seven goals in his last 10 Serie A matches and is priced at 17/10 by Betfred to get on the score sheet.
Ciro Immobile is the top scorer in Serie A with 20 goals and will be the one to watch for Lazio on Saturday. Paddy Power has the striker at odds of 13/10 to get on the score sheet on Sunday.
Anything else catch the eye?
The reverse fixture produced over 3.5 goals and given the attacking quality both teams possess, a similar outcome could be considered at 23/10 with BetVictor. Over 2.5 goals is valued at 10/11 with SBK, who are also offering odds of 5/7 on both teams to score.
There were more goals before the break in the reverse fixture so the first half could be tipped as the highest scoring half at 5/2 with Coral.
This Serie A match between Roma and Lazio will be played on Mar 20, 2022 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Roma vs Lazio prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
