2025-26 Derby Tracker (Preliminary Version)
By: AT
Image Credit: Liam McKay
*Read the first article of our next project: tracking famous football derbies around Europe! (Potentially expanding to leagues around the world.)
Introduction
Around the world, football contains many matches that breed excitement among fanbases. These matches include season openers, home openers, thrilling end-of-season matches with high stakes, domestic cup finals and prestigious champions league matches.
For fans’ excitement, however, no matches are better suited than derby matches, from local rivalries within cities or regions to prestige-based rivalries involving two of a country’s most iconic clubs (think Liverpool FC versus Manchester United — the two EPL clubs with the most leagues titles — or Der Klassiker between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund). Other rivalries are both local and prestige-based (think Il Derby della Madonnina between AC Milan and Inter Milan), whereas some rivalries contain both elements, plus politics (think El Clásico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid).
This tracker provides an overview of the most prestigious and highly anticipated derby matchups across Europe’s top five leagues: Bundesliga, LaLiga, Ligue 1, Premier League (EPL) and Serie A.
We start with a derby that, so far this season, took place on September 21, 2025: Il Derby della Capitale/Rome Derby.
Derby della Capitale/Rome Derby
This derby, between the two Serie A clubs from Rome, the capital of Italy, is undoubtedly Italy’s most hostile and violent clash. The matchup also consists of the only two clubs from the Lazio region — hence the name of one of the clubs: SS Lazio. As well, both clubs share the iconic Stadio Olimpico, which hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics, the 1990 FIFA World Cup final (a 1-0 West Germany victory against Argentina) and the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League final (a 2-0 FC Barcelona victory against Manchester United).
In anticipation of the major clash of clubs, the Rome police, sometimes with assistance from the Carabinieri — the Italian federal police — deploy platoons of officers to patrol the streets and parks of The Eternal City. Scores of cafes, restaurants and stores shudder their doors for the day — either due to concerns for their property or because of their personnel taking time off to watch the match.
Both clubs have distinct fanbases. AS Roma, known by their colours as I Gallorossi (the yellow and reds), generally boast supporters from the southern city districts, including Esquilino, San Lorenzo and Pigneto; SS Lazio, known by their colours as Biancocelesti (the white and sky-blues), generally boast supporters from the city’s northern districts — including Parioli, Flaminio and Monte Mario — and several peripheral and rural areas within the Lazio region.
Moreover, this rivalry is politically charged: Roma supporters generally sit on the left side of the political spectrum, whereas Lazio generally sit on the right side of that spectrum.
On the pitch, hostilities persist. It is very common for players from both clubs (though these days, mostly from Lazio) to receive red cards throughout the match, as well as supplemental disciplinary action following the match — from fines to additional suspensions. Most of the recent expulsions during these matches have taken place near the end of the match or after the final whistle.
Historically, both clubs have played each other 163 times, including the match that took place on September 21, 2025. The derby record is the following:
59 Roma wins;
42 Lazio wins; and
62 draws.
The latest match ended in a 1-0 away victory for Roma, which was the first derby match for newly hired Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini. It was the first of at least two matchups that are scheduled to take place throughout the 2025-26 season. Also, Lazio midfielders Reda Belahyane and Matteo Guendouzi received direct red cards (i.e., having not received a yellow card earlier in the match) during that match. Belahyane earned his red card at the 86th minute after a dangerous and unnecessary tackle on Roma midfielder Manu Koné; Guendouzi earned his red card after the final whistle, likely for using extreme foul language towards the match officials.
