One of the thrilling fixtures on this Serie A spherical pits Roma and Juventus towards one another on the Stadio Olimpico. Sunday’s encounter within the capital must have vital driving on one of the intense top-four races in latest reminiscence.
What appeared not possible earlier than Claudio Ranieri’s appointment in November has turn out to be a definite risk for Roma. The 71-year-old has turned a downtrodden facet right into a formidable power, main the Giallorossi to sixth within the Serie A desk and inside touching distance of fourth-placed Bologna.
4 factors separate Roma from a coveted Champions League qualification with eight matches left, underscoring the significance of scooping up one other victory on this high-profile contest. The hosts left it late to beat bottom-half Lecce as Artem Dovbyk’s Eightieth-minute winner impressed them to a scrappy win at Stadio Through del Mare.
An equivalent scoreline noticed Juventus get the better of Genoa on house soil final Sunday, courtesy of Kenan Yildiz’s objective halfway via the primary half. After a profitable begin to his interim tenure in Turin, caretaker boss Igor Tudor will goal to impress on his touchline debut outdoors the Allianz Stadium and solidify Juventus’ top-four pursuit.
Nothing much less will do as Juventus path Bologna by a degree after humiliating back-to-back losses to Atalanta and Fiorentina towards the tip of Thiago Motta’s regime. Nevertheless, beating Roma on the Olimpico may very well be a tall order even for the record-time Italian champions.
Match Preview
Roma
Regardless of his age, Ranieri, who got here out of retirement to rekindle Roma’s faltering marketing campaign, continues to jot down historical past. Recent off a seventh consecutive Serie A win, Roma could make it eight on the trot for the primary time since March 2016 and doubtlessly take a decisive step towards hauling again a four-point deficit on the ultimate Champions League qualifying spot.
Stadio Olimpico has been a fortress, with the Giallorossi racking up an attention-grabbing 12 wins from their final 13 house outings in all competitions (D1). Subsequently, Roma followers can dare to dream huge because the hosts bid to halt a three-game winless run towards Juventus in Serie A (D2, L1), bookended by a 0-0 attract September’s reverse fixture.
Discovering an all-important opener may very well be a game-defining milestone, particularly contemplating Roma’s behavior of changing leads into victories. Certainly, they’ve received all eight house league matches when going 1-0 up this season. It should, then, be a recipe for fulfillment. Nevertheless, they lament a dire report of no win from seven video games towards a facet beginning this spherical within the prime 5 (D3, L4).
Juventus
Like their hosts, Juventus have immensely struggled towards the division’s finest groups this time period. Solely three of the guests’ 14 Serie A victories this season have come towards sides beginning this matchday within the prime 9 (D3, L7), with three of their final 4 matches towards such opposition yielding a dismal return of three defeats (W1).
Nevertheless, Juventus have fared decently in hostile environments this time period, avoiding defeat on 12 of their 14 Serie A street journeys (W6, D6). But, each these losses got here throughout their final 4 travels towards fellow European qualification hopefuls. Moreover, a 3-0 loss in Florence halted Juve’s excellent run of breaking the impasse in seven consecutive away league video games.
Poised to return to profitable methods on the street, Juventus will flip to their decent-looking run of only one defeat from their final 5 Serie A visits to Roma’s house floor for inspiration (W2, D2). Worryingly, they’re with out a clear sheet at this venue since a scoreless attract Could 2018, highlighting the magnitude of the duty awaiting them on Sunday.
Workforce Information
Roma can not name upon the injured trio – Saud Abdulhamid, Devyne Rensch, and Paulo Dybala – although the Dutch wingback may begin on the bench. In the meantime, Milan loanee Alexis Saelemaekers should watch the sport from the stands resulting from amassed yellow playing cards.
In the meantime, Federico Gatti has joined long-term absentees Arkadiusz Milik, Juan Cabal, and Gleison Bremer within the remedy room. Andrea Cambiaso and Douglas Luiz usually are not absolutely match, which means they’ll both keep on the sidelines or make the bench.
Roma vs Juventus Potential Beginning Line-ups
Roma (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Hummels, Ndicka; Gourna-Douath, Kone, Cristante, Angelino; Matias Soule, Pellegrini; Dovbyk.
Juventus (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Veiga, Kelly; Gonzalez, Locatelli, Thuram, McKennie; Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Vlahovic.
Roma vs Juventus Prediction
A draw wouldn’t profit both facet, but it surely’d nonetheless do extra good than injury for Juventus. Roma should take all three factors to remain in rivalry for a top-four end, and the workforce’s renaissance beneath Ranieri suggests they’ll do exactly that.
Prediction: Roma to Win
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