Stephan El Shaarawy “gets a special feeling inside me when the derby comes around” and wants to take centre stage for Roma against Lazio.
It kicks off on Sunday at 11.30 UK time (10.30 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“I think (second place) is what we deserve given the season we've had. We have three tough games coming up one after the other but finishing second is very important to us,” the Little Pharaoh told the Roma match programme.
Stephan El Shaarawy “gets a special feeling inside me when the derby comes around” and wants to take centre stage for Roma against Lazio.
It kicks off on Sunday at 11.30 UK time (10.30 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“I think (second place) is what we deserve given the season we've had. We have three tough games coming up one after the other but finishing second is very important to us,” the Little Pharaoh told the Roma match programme.
This is a precious objective, as it would allow them to avoid the Champions League preliminary round, which proved costly this season against Porto.
“There's no advantage to be had in starting with a make-or-break tie. Unfortunately we weren't able to qualify for the Champions League but I think we had a decent Europa League campaign.
“The match against Lyon didn't go the way we'd hoped and our biggest mistake was the first leg. This match against Lazio is our 50th of the season and it's a derby, where the little details can make all the difference.
"I expect it will be a tense encounter, as it always is. Tough and intense. But we're in good form at the moment: we were excellent against Pescara and we're full of confidence.”
Lazio have already knocked Roma out of the Coppa Italia semi-finals, winning 2-0 in the first leg and going through despite a 3-2 loss.
“We came up a bit short in the first leg and got caught on the counter twice,” confessed El Shaarawy.
“We were always going to leave them space in the return leg as we had to come from behind. You can't concede too many goals in games like that. The big positive to take from the two ties against Lyon and Lazio was the way we fought back in the return leg. We won them both but it wasn't enough.
“We'll need to stay fully focused for 90 minutes – there have been times when we haven't managed to do that. Lazio sit back and defend and they're good on the counter but we're ready and confident.
“Personally I love playing in derbies. I've played in the Milan derby before too but it's different here. Plus we had the Curva back last time…
“Playing with the Curva behind you gives you a massive boost. The fans put their heart and soul into cheering for this club. They make you stronger.”
The Italy international famously scored in a 1-1 Milan Derby draw with Inter in February 2013 and also opened the scoring when Roma crushed Lazio 4-1 in April 2016.
“I get a special feeling inside me when the derby comes around. But we need to treat it like any other game. We need to win to keep Napoli at arm's length.”