5 talking points before the Rome derby

The first Derby della Capitale of the season comes around on Saturday evening as Roma host Lazio.

Both Roman rivals are riding high in the Serie A table and looking to gain an advantage as the halfway point of the season looms large.

Here, Press Association Sport picks over five talking points before the Stadio Olimpico showdown.

Italy in mourning

Overshadowing the build-up to the weekend’s derby has been Italy’s surprise failure to qualify for the World Cup in Russia. Sweden beat the Azzurri 1-0 on aggregate, with a goalless draw at San Siro on Monday confirming Italy’s absence from the finals for the first time since 1958. Italy internationals like Ciro Immobile, Alessandro Florenzi and Daniele De Rossi might be suffering from heavy hangovers – or they may well go into the encounter feeling they have something to prove.

Racist run-ins

Anne Frank stickers

As much as Lazio fans have tried to swerve accusations of anti-Semitism, their posting in the Olimpico of stickers depicting Holocaust victim and diarist Anne Frank in a Roma shirt have created fresh outrage. Lazio are now the subject of disciplinary proceedings and the club have tried to make amends by reading out passages of Frank’s diary before games, with players wearing shirts featuring her image before kick-off. A section of Lazio supporters has booed these actions – will there be further provocation when directly confronted with their hated city rivals?

Whose bubble will burst?

Lazio go into the match in fourth place and riding a string of nine straight victories in all competitions while fifth-placed Roma, just a point behind in the league, have won five in a row at home and in Europe, including a 3-0 defeat of English champions Chelsea. Both sides have lost at home in Serie A already this term, so that pressure does not exist, but keeping such impressive streaks going will be a priority for both teams and their managers, Eusebio Di Francesco and Simone Inzaghi.

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