Two sides with ambitions of finishing in the top four go head to head on Saturday evening when Juventus welcome Roma to Turin in a key Serie A encounter.
With several of their closest rivals away in Saudi Arabia competing in the Supercoppa Italiana, both teams have a valuable opportunity to close the gap on those above them.
Juventus come into the match on the back of a confidence boosting run. After securing an important win in Europe, they followed it up with an impressive league victory away to Bologna, handing their opponents a rare defeat at the Stadio Dall’Ara. That success came just four days after beating Pafos in the Champions League, a result that, along with another recent win, has reignited hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
In Bologna, the decisive moment came from an unexpected source, as second half substitute Juan Cabal headed home the only goal of a tightly contested match shortly after coming on. It was a result that underlined Juventus’ growing momentum, with two wins in their last three league games, matching their total from the previous nine.
Now fifth in the table, the Bianconeri appear to be finding their rhythm after an unsteady start to the campaign. Under new manager Luciano Spalletti, they will be aiming to extend their unbeaten run at home in Serie A to 12 matches. The fixture also carries personal significance for Spalletti, who faces one of his former clubs just two weeks after coming up against another in Napoli.
History offers Juventus plenty of encouragement. They have won 11 of the last 14 league meetings with Roma in Turin and kept clean sheets in 10 of those games, highlighting their dominance in this fixture on home soil.
Roma’s recent record against Juventus is less impressive, having won just once in their last 10 Serie A encounters, although the last three meetings have all ended in draws. The visitors do arrive four points ahead of Juventus in the standings after steadying themselves earlier this week.
After briefly topping the table in late November, Roma endured a dip in form, losing two league matches without scoring as a striker shortage took its toll. Among the top half teams, they have the joint lowest goal tally with just 16 scored. That made Monday’s 1-0 home win over fellow European contenders Como especially welcome, with wing back Wesley scoring his third goal of the season.
Despite slipping to fourth place, Roma remain firmly in the title picture, sitting just three points behind new leaders Inter Milan, who are not in league action this weekend due to Supercoppa commitments. A rare victory in Turin would lift Gian Piero Gasperini’s side into second place, above Napoli and AC Milan.
There is genuine reason for optimism. Roma boast the tightest defence in Serie A, having conceded only eight goals, and their away form in the current calendar year has been outstanding, with 12 wins from 17 matches on the road.
INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
Juventus continue to deal with problems at the back, with Federico Gatti ruled out through injury and fellow centre backs Daniele Rugani and Bremer only just returning after time on the sidelines. Bremer, who has been badly missed in recent months, could be thrown straight into the starting lineup on Saturday, especially as Teun Koopmeiners is suspended and unavailable to fill in defensively.
In attack, Kenan Yildiz is once again expected to play a key creative role behind a lone striker, having set up Juan Cabal’s winning goal last week. With Dusan Vlahovic still sidelined, the responsibility up front will fall to either Lois Openda or Jonathan David.
David recently found the net in the Champions League, but his domestic form has dipped, as he is currently on his longest league goal drought since arriving in Europe, having gone 13 matches without scoring.
Roma’s attacking players have faced similar difficulties. Evan Ferguson and Paulo Dybala have both struggled for consistency, with Dybala managing just one Serie A goal so far, marking the slowest start to a league season of his career.
Former Juventus winger Matias Soule is expected to feature in the final third for Roma and has been one of their more active attackers. Only Yildiz and Como’s Nico Paz have recorded more combined shots and chances created than Soule this season.
Gian Piero Gasperini could receive a boost with the possible return of Artem Dovbyk from injury, but Roma will be without Neil El Aynaoui and defensive mainstay Evan Ndicka, both of whom are set to depart for Africa Cup of Nations duty.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly; McKennie, Locatelli, Thuram, Cambiaso; Conceicao, Yildiz; David
Roma possible starting lineup:
Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Hermoso; Wesley, Kone, Cristante, Rensch; Soule, Pellegrini; Ferguson
EXPERT PREDICTION
Juventus 1-1 AS Roma
