Ahead of the Derby della Capitale, Roma expert Steven Sciavillo of Chiesa di Totti identified three players that Lazio should be wary of. These individuals are Tammy Abraham, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Jordan Veretout.
Abraham has transitioned quicker than expected after joining the club at the end of the Summer Transfer Window. The 23-year-old has shown that he can score goals and set them up; so far, he has started all five of Roma’s Serie A matches, finding the back of the net twice and providing two assists. Jose Mourinho has put faith in the English striker to be the main man leading the lines, and so far, he has lived up to expectations. Considering Lazio play a high line, he could be deadly with his pace when Roma break out on the counter-attack.
Mkhitaryan is expected to take up a more central role with Lorenzo Pellegrini suspended. As a result, the 32-year-old Armenian will be Roma’s creative spark and the point guard in the attack, setting up Abraham up front or Stephan El Shaarawy and Nicolo Zaniolo on the wings. So far, he has started six of the Giallorossi’s seven matches in all competitions, providing a goal and two assists from the left flank; it will be interesting to see if he can find success as a central attacking midfielder in this fixture against Lazio.
Veretout is great at making runs from the midfield on the counter, and with Pellegrini out, the 28-year-old Frenchman will give Roma a different goal-scoring option. If a penalty is to be awarded, expect him to be the man to step up to take it and likely convert.
