Lazio boss Inzaghi calls for bravery ahead of derby showdown

Posted Saturday, April 29, 2017 by PA

Lazio head coach Simone Inzaghi is determined to upset the odds and lead the Biancocelesti to victory over Roma in Sunday's Derby della Capitale.

The Rome rivals have already played each other three times this season, with Lazio losing to the Giallorossi in the first Serie A meeting before winning the Coppa Italia semi-final over two legs.

That counts for nothing now, however, as second-placed Roma are 11 points better off and displaying distinctly better form as the league campaign enters the final furlong.

Lazio would do their rivals serious damage by triumphing in the derby as Roma still have a sniff of beating Juventus to the Scudetto following the reigning champions' draw at Atalanta on Friday.

And the Biancocelesti, who are seven points behind third-placed Napoli in the nearest Champions League place, have their own lofty ambitions to worry about.

Quoted by the club's official Twitter account, Inzaghi said: "We haven't qualified for Europe quite yet. We've got a few tricky games ahead of us and the first one is against Roma, who'll be the favourites.

"We're trying to prepare well for this game, like we've done before all the others.

"I'm expecting the lads to demonstrate a winning mentality like they did in both legs of the Coppa Italia semi-final. We have to be brave and make the most of our strengths.

"We know how important the derby is to our fans and we will do everything we can to defy the predictions."

Inzaghi would rather the capital-city showdown was being played under floodlights, rather than in the midday sun, and he added: "I will say that I'm not a big fan of the lunchtime kick-off, the last two nighttime derbies had amazing atmospheres."

Barring injured goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, every Lazio player is at Inzaghi's disposal, although he has doubts over his preferred formation and personnel.

Alessandro Florenzi is Roma's only confirmed absentee. The attacking full-back suffered a fresh anterior cruciate ligament injury setback in February.

Forward Stephan El Shaarawy believes the Giallorossi have work to do to rubber-stamp their automatic qualification for the Champions League group stage, as Napoli are only four points behind.

He told asroma.com: "We have three tough games coming up one after the other, but finishing second is very important to us.

"I expect it will be a tense encounter, as it always is. Tough and intense. But we're in good form at the moment - we were excellent against Pescara (a 4-1 win) and we're full of confidence.

"I get a special feeling inside me when the derby comes around. But we need to treat it like any other game. We need to win to keep Napoli at arm's length."