Tommaso Rocchi is hoping to rouse struggling Lazio from their poor form in tomorrow night's Eternal City derby at Roma.

The Biancoceleste captain expects his team to stage a revival against the Giallorossi in a match that is set to be a battle from start to finish.

"We will do everything possible not to disappoint our fans," said Rocchi.

"We arrive at this game following a negative period and we will have to find the right concentration and bring out our best.

"This is a crucial match for our campaign and because of what the derby means to both sides."

Lazio are in desperate need of a victory in order to climb out of 15th position in the standings, having only taken 13 points in 14 games so far this season.

It was hoped the arrival of coach Davide Ballardini in the summer would end memories of a disappointing term last season, which saw Lazio finish in 10th place.

But the Biancoceleste appear to have fallen back into trouble.

They have not won in the league since August 30 and are just one point above the drop zone.

They also go into the match having crashed out of the Europa League this week after a 2-1 defeat at FC Salzburg.

"We will now focus all our efforts on the domestic front," said Rocchi. "Despite our poor results, this team is alive and we showed against Salzburg that we have an identity in both defence and attack."

Lazio have failed to find the net in the last three league games but take on a Roma side that have the third worst defensive line in Serie A with 22 goals shipped.

Roma go into this weekend's game with an eight-point advantage over their arch rivals.

The hosts know they will have a battle on their hands despite Lazio's dismal campaign so far.

"Lazio are fighting to remain clear of the drop zone and we are much stronger than they are," said Roma captain Francesco Totti. "But it doesn't matter who arrives better or worse in this game.

"There have been years where we arrived better to the derby and they ended up winning.

"Let's hope that is not the case."

Roma have reason to be confident as the last time Lazio won at Roma was back in 1997 and the Giallorossi have come out victories in the last two campaigns.

Moreover, Claudio Ranieri's side go into the game inspired by their 2-1 triumph over Basel in midweek which assured them a place in the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Mirko Vucinic struck the winner after Totti had levelled the score from the penalty spot.

Roma will be at full strength with Ranieri having all of his players available for selection.

Lazio are without striker Julio Cruz through suspension while Sebastiano Siviglia, Christian Manfredini and Stefano Mauri are all sidelined through injury.