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Serie A Betfair Live Video Preview: 'Derby della Capitale' a must win for Roma

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A reversal of fortunes is a wonderful thing to behold and for a rivalry to be truly great, the balance of power has to switch back and forth between the protagonists. That has definitely been the case in Rome, says Dan Fitch as he looks ahead to Sunday's derby between Roma and Lazio.

The greatest rivalry of all time was undoubtedly the one that existed between Coronation Street's Ken Barlow and Mike Baldwin. They passed the unlikely object of their affections, the owl-eyed Deidre, back and forth throughout the early eighties, in a manner which suggested it was more about one-upmanship than any real desire for a woman whose cultural horizons were limited to shifting around tins of spam in Alf Roberts' corner shop.

Mike could always get a rise out of his rival by boasting about his greater material success, whilst Ken could always fall back on his grammar school education to refer to Baldwin as 'The Great Gatsby', knowing that the jibe would fly over the head of the Cockney businessman.

The rivalry between Roma and Lazio is not quite up there with Barlow v Baldwin in terms of intensity, but there are still plenty of people interested in it. This weekend they meet in the Derby della Capitale and all the action can be seen on the TV channel that is bidding furiously for the rights to show classic Corrie reruns; Betfair Live Video.

Lazio have spent many seasons in Roma's shadow, but are now in the luxurious position of competing in the title race, whilst their rivals languish just above the relegation zone. If ever there was one, this is a must win game for Roma, who could find themselves in the relegation zone this weekend if results do not go their way.

Last week's trip to Bologna, almost saw Roma take the 3 points, but for an injury time own goal from Cicinho. Coming on the back of their 3-1 Champions League victory over Chelsea, a win would have signalled something of a recovery. Instead, Bologna's late equaliser leaves Roma without a win in the last five Serie A outings.

Lazio went off the boil a little during October, but have now won three games on the bounce, to put themselves right back in the mix. Though currently fifth in the table, only two points separate Lazio from the league leaders Inter.

Delio's Rossi's side are Serie A's top scorers, having netted 21 goals. Mauro Zarate has got seven and can be backed to lead the Serie A goals chart at [9.0], while Goran Pandev , with five goals, is available at [27.0]. Along with Tommaso Rocchi and Pandev, Zarate will start against Roma in an attacking trio. A win could see Lazio move back into the Champions League positions.

It did look like Roma would be without Daniele De Rossi, who has a fractured wrist, but reports now seem to indicate that he will play. This will come as comforting news for Spalletti, who already has Aquilani injured and Pizarro missing through suspension. Other injury doubts include Baptista, Mexes, Taddei, Okaka and Cicinho.