Exciting Rome Derby Coming Up

This will be a very interesting weekend, mainly because of all that has happened to mount up to these couple of days. While you had Inter Milan losing 3-1 away to Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, we also saw Roma win 3-2 away in Switzerland against FC Basel. AC Milan did their best against Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid, and probably could've won if it wasn't for a last minute goal by Pedro Leon in the 94th minute of the match to make it 2-2. The Europa League was a pretty big disappointment for Italian sides as well, Sampdoria could only draw 0-0 at home with Metalist with Juventus getting the same result against Salzburg. Palermo lost 3-1 away to CSKA Moscow, and Napoli lost by the same scoreline away at Anfield against Liverpool.

So there are quite a few sides which will be trying to get a good result this weekend, and build on it for a good Serie A run. While that's easy to say, we'll see how many teams manage to win comfortably, and how many are still crippled from their midweek efforts in Europe's "top competitions". And if the sides competing in Europe do manage to get a good run going in the Serie A, maybe there'll be a few more positive results the next time the Champions and Europa League come around.

If there's one match which stands out when looking at the fixtures for this weekend, it has to be the Rome derby. Lazio are at home in the Stadio Olimpico facing Roma in one of Sunday's earlier kick-offs. Right away what comes to mind is the fact that this Rome derby is very important for both sides, and maybe all of the Serie A, and I can't remember (I have terrible memory as well) a Rome derby with so much significance.

Lazio are on a fantastic streak right now, and they're top of the table four points ahead of second-placed Inter Milan. Meanwhile Roma aren't achieving as much, but they're still in a respectable ninth place, with a ten point difference between them and their city rivals. But Lazio only managed to squeeze a 1-0 win last weekend away at Palermo, and it was the home side which was playing much better than Lazio. Roma on the other hand defeated Lecce 2-0, creating about five opportunities in which they should've scored, but they didn't.

So can Roma topple the surprise table-leaders Lazio? Well, even if Lazio lost to Roma this weekend, they'd still remain top of the table thanks to the four point cushion they have over Inter Milan, but a first loss of the season could demoralize Edy Reja's side.

My prediction is a tight 2-1 win for Roma with Vucinic getting on the scoresheet. But this game can go countless different ways, so please share what you think the result will be below by commenting.

As for other matches, Palermo will be facing Genoa at home. While both sides haven't had some great results recently, they both play wonderful attacking football, and to spice things up, both sides are tied in the table with 11 points. I expect this one to be a great match, with the likes of Javier Pastore going up against Miguel Veloso in the midfield, this is another match that can go either way.

While you can give Palermo a bit of home advantage, I think this match will end in a 2-2 draw. Genoa are a side which force their way to the goal with quick and attacking play, and Luca Toni looked very good against Inter Milan last weekend. But make sure to share your prediction by commenting below!

There aren't many other "big" clashes in this weekend's Serie A fixtures, and while AC Milan will have to travel to Bari, I think that Allegri's side can find a way to win. Inter Milan also seem to have a pretty straightforward match at home against Brescia, but you never know, especially after that 3-1 loss to Tottenham. Will Benitez continue to be defensive? Milito will be returning this match, can he get on the scoresheet? So many questions, make sure to comment if you have any answers, or questions yourself!

Tagged as: AC Milan, Bari, Brescia, Genoa, Inter Milan, Lazio, Palermo, Roma, Rome derby, Serie A, Toni, Totti, Vucinic