Here’s to hoping footy only talking point after Derby del Sole

Officially, Neapolitans are banned from buying tickets for il Derby del Sole at Stadio Olimpico. In actuality, at least 15,000 Partenopei will attend the match between their SSC Napoli and archrival AS Roma on Sunday (1:45 p.m., FuboTV).

An even greater number will be present in the Italian capital. They tend not to arrive quietly (trust me), and on Friday afternoon the local authorities convened to discuss security protocols. A 24-hour general strike halted train traffic from Thursday night, so they had a bit longer than usual to lay out their plans.

They’ll have needed it. Inexplicably, the match will kick off at 8:45 p.m. in Rome — an entire day requiring heightened police presence and public safety measures in the city centre. And, because the stadium will only empty sometime around 11:30 p.m., an already tense situation will inevitably extend into Monday.

Oh, and the game will involve two of the top sides in Serie A.

Roma entered the weekend with a league-best 27 points, and Napoli’s 25 was good for joint-second with AC Milan. The Derby del Sole has never involved the leading teams in the country with a third of the schedule played, so Scudetto contention will be involved on Sunday as well.

If the stakes are higher than, well, ever, it’s because of Roma’s sudden improvement that has so far been sustained. Fifth last season and sixth in each of the previous three, and seventh before that, the Giallorossi have climbed their way to first by demonstrating that rarest of qualities in what has been a topsy-turvy autumn everywhere else: consistency.

New manager Gian Piero Gasperini is largely to thank for that. The ex-Atalanta boss was known for his fluid, attacking football in Bergamo, but in Rome his focus has been on defence. Given the personnel he inherited he didn’t have much choice, although the transformations of wing-back Zeki Celik and defensive midfielder Bryan Cristante have shown him to be an effective teaching coach and perhaps more of a pragmatist than a lot of people thought.

Gasperini’s teams have always been well-drilled, but none more so than this Roma group. He’s hard on his players, and he doesn’t hide his frustration when they underperform.

He doesn’t hide his frustration generally, for that matter, and it’s why he’ll be watching from the press box while assistant Tullio Gritti oversees the Napoli contest. The 67-year-old will be serving a suspension for lashing out at the referee during last weekend’s win at Cremonese.

Napoli manager Antonio Conte would surely join Gasperini in the stands if it meant he could deploy one or two of his many injured players. The Azzurri had only seven of a permitted 12 subs on the bench for Tuesday’s Champions League match against Qarabag, and two of them were promotions from the youth set-up.

Billy Gilmour is the latest to require treatment and won’t be back until the new year. His presence adds to an overcrowded therapists’ room that already includes fellow midfielders Kevin De Bruyne and Frank Zambo Anguissa, left-backs Miguel Gutierrez and Leonardo Spinazzola, striker Romelu Lukaku and first-choice goalkeeper Alex Meret.

Earlier this month, following a 2-0 loss at Bologna, Conte remarked that his was a “dead” team, although by beating Atalanta 3-1 and Qarabag 2-0 it is still showing signs of life. The Atalanta result was enough to propel the reigning champions into a share of second place.

Conte has recently been able to overcome his injury crisis by relying on a three-man defence that reduces the pressure on his midfielders. He has also benefited from standout performances by Scott McTominay and may soon reunite the 28-year-old with former Manchester United teammate Kobbie Mainoo, who wants more football than he’s currently getting at Old Trafford.

For now, Napoli will have to rely on the nous of its manager and the health of its remaining players until at least the January transfer window. It needs every boost it can get, which is why the club will welcome its thousands of supporters to a match that, at least on paper, has banned them.

As always, there are plenty of football-related storylines to accompany this Derby del Sole. The match will be a good one, as is typically the case, and the points gained — and dropped — will be consequential.

Here’s hoping it’s still the football, and only the football, generating the talking points at kickoff, at the final whistle, and on Monday morning.

winnipegfreepress.com/jerradpeters