Ranieri concedes they face an in-form Lazio, though is happy with the improvements from the Giallorossi in recent weeks.
What does the derby represent for you, a great Roma fan?
"It represents the derby, everything a fan can think of, whether they are a Roma fan or a Lazio fan, an Inter fan or a Milan fan, a Sampdoria fan or a Genoa fan. It's a game that you feel more. At the moment the standings speak clearly, they are experiencing an exceptional moment, they have had a stratospheric group, they play with speed and few touches and therefore they are a very fearsome team. But the derby is always a story in itself."
A personal memory of Ranieri's derby as a boy?
"I went to the Curva Sud, at the time it was still three-quarters Roma and one-quarter Lazio. We were all waiting for Dante, the head fan, to start the chants. There were the teasing, there weren't all the things that happened later."
What did the month of December on the Roma bench make you understand?
"It made us understand that we are a team, that we have managed to come together again. We have defects and we are working to eliminate them. We are not yet 100% in this respect, but at least we have put the ship back on the road. I have never promised my teams anything special, except work, sacrifice and the desire to give our best in every situation."
Are you nervous to think that you are playing only for something ephemeral that only matters to the fans or does it calm you down?
"If it only applies to the fans then it applies to me too (laughs, ed.). No, it doesn't calm me down, it gives me the same emotion as always. The derby is the derby. Just as they care about it, we care about doing well and winning the match. Of course, we have all experienced other types of derbies, but the derby is the derby and it resets everything, the standings don't matter. We will play with the same desire to do well. There is no nervousness, also because it is not a good motivation. Motivation is in the awareness of the opponent's strength, of your strength and of what you have to do to win."
For many, it could be the first derby. Could that be an advantage?
"The advantage is to put players who are physically fit, who are part of the department, who are part of the team. Debutants or not, it doesn't matter, the important thing is that they are physically and mentally fit, in connection with each other."
Why doesn't he play Pellegrini at the moment?
"It's just a psychological consideration. Technically I consider him one of the best midfielders in Europe. There are few midfielders who score goals and those who have them should hold on to them. But he suffers from this fact of the fans and I have to keep in mind whether a player takes on the burden or whether they slip away from him. Lorenzo takes on all the problems and that's his sin. Instead he should play naturally, as he was used to doing: only in this way can he return to being the player he is, free from any burden.
"He carries around millstones. It's not easy to play at home where if the fans' favourite makes one or two mistakes nothing happens, he makes a half-mistake and is immediately burdened with negativity and responsibility. The day I see him calm and all... You saw that I had no problem putting him in at San Siro and he was about to score. He has the ability to score at the right moment."
Lazio is strong on the outside:
"Baroni's team has found the key to the problem. They are good on the outside, they are good in the center, they play at speed, they restart at a thousand miles an hour. I take everything into consideration. I am convinced that Baroni will also be taking into consideration all of Roma's qualities and difficulties."
Analogies with the November 2010 derby, when Roma won 2-0 and you said before the match that Lazio had all the pressure because they were first?
"No, because in the management of the group the derbies charge themselves, the fans make you experience it in every event. We opened the 'Tre Fontane' to wish a happy new year, to meet our fans and our families. We didn't have to give ourselves more because in every match they give it to us. They are up there, in the Champions League zone. It's logical that they are aware of wanting to get to the Champions League, once they've touched it. But every derby is in itself, the standings don't count or anything else. Only the kick-off whistle counts, from there there will be different matches within the match."
Can it be an advantage for you that Baroni is at the first Derby della Capitale?
"No, I don't think it's a determining factor. He puts the autopilot on, Lazio goes on autopilot, you have to admit. He'll feel the beauty, the taste of the derby as a coach. But that's all."
Peace made with the fans?
"I think we are all united. Ownership, masseurs, warehouse workers, everyone. And the fans are also doing their part. I am of a certain age, once they used to say 'Roma is not to be discussed, it is to be loved'. I have always loved it and I will always love it for better or for worse. When I was a child, a president even took up a collection and those fans became life members. The Friedkins have put a lot of money into it, it's time to give them some satisfaction."