SS Lazio v AS Roma
Football: Italian Serie A
Sunday, 18th April 2010. Kickoff 18:30

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SS Lazio

Lazio has enjoyed a very disappointing season after surprisingly being involved in the relegation battle.

The threat of falling to Serie B is still on the horizon especially if we look at the scedule of last 5 matchdays ,which includes fixtures against Roma, Genoa, Inter and partly revived Udinese.

Hence there will be no shortage of motivation for Lazio on Sunday evening as they will attempt to improve a poor home record of 4-6-6.

Lazio produced an imphatic come back a week ago in Bologna. After falling behind 0-2 on the 16th minute, Reja's men managed to score 3 through Mauri,Dias and Rocchi.

Lazio is unbeaten in last 5 league games, which is a sign of improvement after the arrival of new head coach Reja.

AS Roma

Inter's 2-0 victory against Juventus on Friday evening temporarily moved AS Roma to the 2nd place in the table. However 3 points from this match would allow the Giallorossi to restore the Serie A lead.

Roma is naturally brimming with confidence. The last Serie A defeat dates back to October 2009, when Lupi were upset by Udinese on the road. Since then Ranieri's men forgot how to lose.

Roma enters the derby with a ongoing 5 game winning streak. Latest victory was recorded last week at Stadio Olimpico against relegation candidates Atalanta. Vucinic and Cassetti were on mark in the first half, whereas Tiribocchi pulled one back for the visitors.

Ranieri has a full squad to choose from.

Betting advice

As painful as it may be for me, I sense an upset here.

It will not necessarily be a loss, but Lazio certainly has the right momentum to hold arch-rivals to a draw just through maximum commitment.

The Statistics :

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take Lazio (+0.5) @ 1.87 with Bet365