[WATCH] Roma & Lazio start the Champions League race with clash vs Sparta Prague

The Rome derby will be an intriguing match-up tonight for the Champions League qualification battle. The Roma and Lazio fans will be looking to take advantage of a depleted squad of their rival teams to get the three points.

Both Lazio and Roma start the game with eight points, but the situation is quite different when it comes to who is higher on the ladder. If Roma beat Sparta Prague they will be three points ahead of Lazio. That is an advantage they don’t want to lose, so they will want to take their chances and keep their star players on the pitch.

The match kicks off at 7:45pm UK time. And although Lazio are without a number of key players – Radja Nainggolan, Edin Dzeko, Felipe Anderson and Felipe, among others – they have still been able to put together two wins already in the Europa League. In this situation they will be looking to keep the pressure on Roma in the Championship of the table and make sure they take maximum points from their game in hand.

However, Lazio have just two wins from eight games in the European Champions League this season and there is a very real possibility that they could have to play their league games without their best players.

It is the first game between the two teams since Lazio fans were violent following a League Cup match against Empoli last month. Someone pulled down the Swastika on the Lazio team bus. The bus driver refused to drive it and took them to a different football ground, which resulted in an eight game stadium ban for the fans.

The match should be an exciting one and fans may be unable to watch it on TV. Sparta Prague have been without star players through injury. After just winning the Czech league and qualifying for the Champions League it looks like it will be a step backwards in this match-up.

Roma and Lazio fans will be hoping that there are not any interruptions during the game – and that their players are able to concentrate fully – because there could be angry clashes between Roma and Lazio fans if they cross paths and things become heated during the game. That is a constant concern and the football is in danger of suffering because of it.

There is more to come from both clubs this season. More than likely that the final two Champions League places will be decided on December 7 when the final round of games in this group will take place. That is when the top three teams will face each other, which could go a long way in deciding who will qualify for the Europa League.