⚽️Derby della Capitale (Feat. PATRICK KENDRICK)

Roma-Lazio is a fiery and tumultuous fight over what it means to be Roman.

MANCHESTER UNITED vs LIVERPOOL will be the headliner this weekend for many footballistas, and that’s a grand old rivalry match with serious implications for the Premier League title race. But this week’s show picks out a different kind of derby, one where the belligerents are far less concerned with trophies. Roma and Lazio are locked in an eternal battle for the Eternal City, neighbors who share a stadium and a history tied up in the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. Their meetings are tempestuous affairs, with colorful banners mocking one another and—all too frequently—a dark and sinister streak.

Joining us this week is Patrick Kendrick, lead commentator on the world feed for Serie A and the Coppa Italia and a press conference interpreter with many languages at his command. He helps us break down the history of this disagreement, why the Roman clubs have lagged behind the powers of northern Italy in terms of on-pitch success, and the tumultuous seasons that both of these clubs have endured. Plus, he offers some secrets of the craft of commentating:

You can also check it out on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Acast.

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THE HEADLINES

➡️Just in time for the podcast, Juventus have accused Lazio fans of racially abusing Weston McKennie this week. As you’ll hear in the show, it is far from the first incident of this variety for Le Aquile.

➡️With a 4-0 win in the DFB-Pokal semifinal this week, Bayer Leverkusen are now unbeaten in all 40 games they’ve played this season across all competitions.

➡️Turkish giants Fenerbahce are engaged in all-out rebellion against the Turkish Süper Lig following a number of troubling incidents culminating with a disgraceful episode last month where the Istanbul club’s players were attacked by Trabzonspor fans on the pitch. It’s been a chaotic season in Turkey’s top division, though Fenerbahce’s stakeholders voted against leaving the league this week.

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SATURDAY

CRYSTAL PALACE vs MAN CITY (7:30am ET, 12:30pm GMT)

At first glance, there’s only one winner here. But Palace have managed to squeeze out the odd result against City, including a draw at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season. That said, at this stage of the campaign, the Sky Blues tend to chew teams up and spit them out. If this one gets out of hand, you can switch over to NORWICH CITY vs IPSWICH TOWN in the Championship.

WOLVES vs WEST HAM (10am ET, 3pm GMT)

There are five matches in this window, but this top-half encounter stands out from the rest. Both of these sides are quality, though Wolves have some injury issues. If you’re looking for guaranteed goals, you could check out FULHAM vs NEWCASTLE, and LUTON vs BOURNEMOUTH could be fun at Kenilworth Road.

ROMA vs LAZIO (12pm ET, 5pm GMT)

For the full preview, check out the podcast above!

The Roman forecast? Cloudy (from the flares) with a chance of red card.

BRIGHTON vs ARSENAL (12:30pm ET, 5:30pm GMT)

An unfortunate overlap here with the Derby della Capitale, but this one has all the right ingredients. Brighton are something like Arsenal’s bogey team, winning three of the last five encounters, and even the Gunners’ 4-2 win at the Amex last season was incredibly tough work. Mikel Arteta’s side must have victory here—they can’t afford to drop more than two or three points from now until the end of the season—but Roberto De Zerbi has shown over the years that he might just have Arteta’s number. For his part, the Brighton boss may be in the hunt for a bigger job.

ATHLETIC CLUB vs MALLORCA (4pm ET, 9pm GMT)

It’s not the usual big names and star-studded squads you might expect for the final of the Copa del Rey, and we were narrowly denied a Basque derby final when Mallorca overcame Real Sociedad on penalties in the semis, but there’s still a cup to be won here. It’s also weird that this is taking place so early in the spring, but who am I to tell the Spaniards how to do things? Anybody from Mallorca certainly has life figured out, and here’s a chance to see if they can take some silverware back to paradise.

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THE KITMAN

We’ve been throwing plenty of love to Nike for the international kits they’re dropping ahead of the major tournaments this summer, but how about a moment for this kit Adidas crafted for Wales? I can’t say I’m in love with the base color, but the detailing on the flanks is exquisite:

courtesy of Adidas

You can check this one out over at the Adidas store.

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SUNDAY

RANGERS vs CELTIC (7am ET, 12pm GMT)

The Old Firm. Up there with the Superclásico and—ahem—Roma-Lazio in terms of sheer danger. We’ve traced the history of this one before, and we will do so again in podcast form, but rest assured that it’s worth your time. It’s not just the history, after all, it’s the present: this is second hosting first in the Scottish Premiership, and Rangers have a game in hand on their hated Glasgow rivals. Brendan Rodgers has replaced Ange Postecoglu in the Celtic dugout and will be eager to continue the Bhoys’ dominance of this competition over the last decade, but at Ibrox, Rangers are in control.

MAN UNITED vs LIVERPOOL (10:30am ET, 3:30pm GMT)

On paper, a titanic clash. In practice, perhaps something else.

These are the two most decorated teams in England, with 20 and 19 league titles respectively, but Manchester United are blundering through a truly forgettable season where they really should have even fewer points than they’ve accumulated. Erik ten Hag’s side are struggling to string together patterns of play and score goals, though they did put three past Chelsea on Thursday. The only problem was that Chelsea put four past them.

United seem to pick up points they don’t particularly deserve, however, and their record against Liverpool is fairly good over the last two seasons: they’ve won one, drawn one, and lost one in the league, and just last month they dumped their great rivals out of the FA Cup, denying Jürgen Klopp a quadruple in his final season.

This fixture is a dangerous one for Manchester United.

That aforementioned loss was a 7-0, though, a historical disaster for the Red Devils that far better captures their descent into mediocrity at a time when Liverpool are flying high. The Merseyside outfit have already claimed the League Cup and are in the hunt for the Europa League and the Premier League, scoring goals freely in this competition and conceding just 28 all year.

They will head to Manchester with absolute belief that they can see off an inferior side, but strange things can happen when the locals get exercised at Old Trafford and the old ground starts to shake and sway. If the home team can keep it compact at the back and break out quickly to give the fans something to cheer about, perhaps United can rescue a bit of dignity here and stop their enemies from pulling level with them on 20 league wins.

TOTTENHAM vs FOREST (1pm ET, 6pm GMT)

As we discussed in THE MIDWEEK on Wednesday, Tottenham have a Forrest Gumpish role to play in how this Premier League season will play out. The focus there was on the title and Top Four races, but Spurs have the opportunity to impact the relegation scrap as well if they can bludgeon Nottingham Forest here. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side secured a desperately needed victory over Fulham this week to climb three points clear of Luton and the drop zone, but more points are needed for survival. Spurs, on the other hand, are trying to keep pace with Aston Villa, two points above them in the fourth Champions League place.⚽︎