How are the players looking going into this game?


“Mentally they’re all ready to get stuck into this big match. They’ve all trained well this week and we’ve been able to work on some of the areas we need to improve on.”

What tactical difficulties will tomorrow’s match pose?

“A derby always poses difficulties. We’ll be up against a side who are very dangerous on the counter and good at getting midfielders into the box. It will be tough as derbies always are. They have quality throughout the team and a player such as [Joaquin] Correa who’s difficult to contain in one-on-one situations.”

Will you play with a back three again tomorrow?

“There could be some logic in that but I’m not going to tell you how we’ll play as I don’t want to give the opposition an advantage. We’ve switched between two different formations recently, sometimes during the same game. Football is a dynamic sport and Lazio alter their playing system too. You choose the system based on the attributes of the players you have.”

Is Nicolo Zaniolo relaxed about playing his first derby?

“He doesn’t need to be relaxed. He needs to be determined, focused and aggressive. I haven’t said much to him about the derby because it’s not a game you need to motivate players for. He has plenty of team-mates who can explain it to him. He’ll be one of those involved and we expect a big performance from him.”


Will Kostas Manolas be involved?

“He will be available for the game. He came through the full training session with the rest of the team yesterday and he’s shaken off his ankle problem. It looked worse initially but it’s ok now. He’ll train with the rest of the squad today and then we’ll decide tomorrow.”

Stephan El Shaarawy seems to be one of your most important players at the moment. Will he play against Lazio?


“We have lots of important players in this squad. El Shaarawy can’t play alone, only as part of a collective and he’s playing for the good of the team at the moment. He’s raised his level and improved his consistency this season. I’m happy with that but it’s not enough: he must keep improving.”

Is it a good or a bad thing to have Roman players in the team? Players that know the importance of the game, but also might be carried away by it…

“I’ve had good results as a coach. Players like [Alessandro] Florenzi and [Daniele] De Rossi have lots of experience and I think they have more to offer the team than they take away.”