Totti-less Roma need team effort to beat Lazio

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti says his players will need a huge group effort to make up for the absence of Francesco Totti and win the Rome derby against Lazio tomorrow night.

Totti fractured his ankle when he went down under a heavy challenge during last weekend's 1-0 win over Empoli.

That result lifted Roma to fourth on 51 points, 16 behind leaders Juventus, and equalled the record of 10 consecutive Serie A wins, a feat last achieved by Bologna in the 1963-64 season.

A win against arch-rivals Lazio would set a new record of 11 consecutive victories.

"To get through a moment like this everyone is going to have to give something extra," Spalletti was quoted as saying yesterday.

"Totti is our best player and when someone of his class is missing you need to make up for it with a strong team spirit."

The player on whom expectations will weigh most heavily is Totti's replacement, Vincenzo Montella, who has only recently come back from a long injury lay-off.

His team-mates will try to block out their captain's absence, a near-impossible task considering the blanket coverage the story has been given by the Italian media.

Reports have covered everything from Totti's first request after waking up from the anaesthetic - pizza - to the tearful apology of the Empoli defender who tackled him and the bedside visits of Italy coach Marcello Lippi and the country's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Roma's veteran midfielder Damiano Tommasi argued that he and his team-mates would not lack motivation.

"We'll want to continue to get good results so that Francesco can take part in the team's successes at the end of the season.

"I'm optimistic because our recent run has given us a belief in ourselves - a winning mentality - and that's the way we've got to keep going."

Totti's absence will favour Roma's arch-rivals tomorrow, though Lazio striker Paolo Di Canio denied he was pleased to be playing a weakened side.

"I'll miss him; and whoever knows me well knows that it's true," he said.

"I'll miss him. I would always prefer to win the derby with him on the pitch because he represents Roma."

Even with Totti in the team, Roma would need to be in form to beat Lazio, who are unbeaten at the Olympic Stadium this season and still in with a chance of a UEFA Cup place after defeating fifth-placed Fiorentina 2-1 in their last outing.

In the other matches, Juventus aim to protect their 10-point advantage over second-placed Milan by beating relegation-threatened Lecce at the Stadio delle Alpi.

Juventus drew 2-2 with Messina last weekend but should be far too strong for Lecce, who have earned only four points on the road this season.

Milan continue their pursuit at Palermo, though their players will approach the match warily, especially after their 3-0 Italian Cup defeat by the Sicilians last month.

Inter, two points behind Milan, host Udinese and will hope to take advantage of any slip-up by the top two.

Striker Adriano has now gone 10 games without scoring, a run that may persuade coach Roberto Man-cini to start with a partnership of Obafemi Martins and Julio Cruz.