Serie A
Juventus vs Roma Preview
The Italian champions appear to be set on retaining their title and welcome Roma to Turin on Saturday. At the moment, Massimiliano Allegri’s men are undefeated and have remarkably conceded only eight goals in the league. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo and co have netted 33 times. Currently tied for the most with Napoli.
On the other hand, Roma find themselves in 7th place. Despite only losing once in their previous seven matches, the Giallorossi are 22 points behind their hosts in the standings. Having drawn with Juventus when the two sides met in May, more will be needed this time around from Di Francesco’s men.
Team News
In the case of Juventus, Allegri will be without Joao Cancelo, Andrea Barzagli and Juan Cuadrado. All due to injury. However, the coach can count on Rodrigo Bentancur once again with the Uruguayan having served his suspension. Elsewhere, The Bianconeri could line up without Paulo Dybala. The talented forward has been disappointing in front of goal and although unlikely; could see himself replaced by Douglas Costa or Federico Bernardeschi.
Roma may be able to see striker Edin Dzeko return for this match. The tall Bosnian has been missing for almost a month with injury. Although showing improvement, a late assessment of the players thigh will decide the matter. Similarly, Daniele De Rossi, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Stephan El Shaarawy are all currently question marks. Each with minor injuries and each racing to be healthy for this important clash.
Lineups and Prediction
Juventus: Szczesny; De Sciglio, Bonucci, Chiellini, Sandro; Bentancur, Pjanic, Matuidi; Dybala, Mandzukic, Ronaldo
Roma: Olsen; Florenzi, Fazio, Manolas, Kolarov; N’Zonzi, Cristante; Under, Zaniolo, Kluivert; Dzeko
Ultimately, the biggest problem for the visitors appears to be defense. Roma have conceded 22 goals and now face the league’s top scoring unit. To say nothing of the league’s best defense on the other end.
Furthermore, the champions are at home where they have won 1-0 the in the three previous editions of this match. Generally, meetings between the two remain close but at the moment Juventus has the edge on their opponents.
Juventus 2 – 1 Roma
Photo credit to petr.pavel via Flickr
