Roma have no time to rest after their 2-2 draw with Sassuolo over the weekend, as they take on Sampdoria here midweek.
Roma come off of what could be considered a disappointing draw with Sassuolo, and will look to right the ship as they take on Sampdoria. During the last campaign, Sampdoria experienced a lot of success against the Giallorossi, winning in their trip to the Stadio Olimpico, and drawing at home against the Capitoline side. Sampdoria’s strong attack will look to be a thorn in the side of a potentially fatigued Roma defense, and Serie A’s leading scorer, Eder, will look to get onto goal as often as possible. Roma have only two points out of a possible six from their last pair of matches, not classifiable as a slump by any means, but the Giallorossi have been known to drop games against sides like Sampdoria. Rudi Garcia has to be thinking about resting some of his key players, but Samp are no pushovers, and fielding anything less than their best helps the Genoa-based outfit get the win tonight.
Roma
The squad Rudi Garcia trots out today will look a bit different than the ones that drew with Sassuolo and FC Barcelona in the last week, which means fresh, less experienced faces will see valuable game time. With Antonio Rudiger out for the Giallorossi, Garcia will need to find another player to fill in as a rock in central defense. Mo Salah finally opened his Serie A account this season with a great volley over the weekend, and his continued development is key for Roma. Samp are not known for having a strong defense, and the bevvy of options Roma have in attack will need to take as many chances as possible. In Serie A, each of Salah, Dzeko, Iturbe, and Iago Falque have netted at least a goal, and for Roma to turn one point matches into three point matches, one of them will have to step up and become that go-to goal scoring threat that the Giallorossi need in close games. In midfield, Pjanic looks back to full health, and whoever he’s paired with will have to duel with Roberto Soriano and Fernando, two solid performers in Serie A this season. However, like I said earlier, this squad will look quite a bit different than it has the last week or so. Antonio Rudiger is out with a bad injury to his left knee, while Francesco Totti will miss the match with an injury to his right hand. Wojciech Szczesny continues to nurse his dislocated finger, and long-term absentees Strootman and Capradossi remain out. Too much tinkering with the squad will hurt Roma in the now, but not rotating could devastate them in the long run. How Garcia handles this match, and other midweek matches this year will go a long way in determining how their season will go.
Probable Formation (4-3-3): De Sanctis; Digne, De Rossi, Manolas, Florenzi; Pjanic, Nainggolan, Ucan; Salah, Dzeko, Iturbe
Sampdoria
Electric in attack and shaky in defense, the Blucerchiati will need to try and outscore Roma on the day, because their is no way they can stop them. Eder leads the league in goals, and Luis Muriel, when motivated, is terrific in front of goal. The two of them are fast and clinical, and a threat to any defense that stands in their way. However, the defense is where the problem is. That back line, which surrendered two goals a piece to Napoli, Carpi and Torino, will be without arguably it’s best player in Lorenzo Di Silvestri for the contest. Coach Walter Zenga has found three really talented midfielders he can rely on in Joaquin Correa (one of my picks to breakout in Serie A this year), Fernando and David Ivan. Both the midfield and attack will need to compensate for a defense that will more than likely be starting an 18-year old against one of the leagues most potent attack forces. The Blucerchiati have a pretty substantial injury list, with many key absentees. Lorenzo Di Silvestri and Mattia Cassani will be out for the match, as will the likes of Andrea Coda, Ervin Zukanovic, Antonio Cassano and Nenad Krsticic. Sampdoria have battled inconsistencies early on this season, but to their credit have managed seven points so far.
Probable Formation (4-3-1-2): Viviano; Pereira, Moisander, Silvestre, Regini; Barretto, Fernando, Soriano; Correa; Muriel, Eder
Notable Quotes
Rudi Garcia, Roma Coach
“There is no rule. Our problem wasn’t rotation, but playing well enough to win. We could have done that better against Sassuolo, especially in the first half, when we gave them far too much space. That said, let’s focus on Sampdoria now.”
“The teams at the top of the table are there on merit. But four matches really isn’t a long time. It’s too early to say that the league is done and dusted. What would the teams below us say? Right now the table is more a psychological thing. That’s why I’m angry we didn’t beat Sassuolo as it would have meant us putting a string of wins together. We need to concentrate on tomorrow’s match and we are focused on Sampdoria. After that we’ll take each game as it comes.”
Walter Zenga, Sampdoria Coach
“There are still 33 games to go, it’s a long season. Torino, for example, have shown what can be achieved with a Coach who has been there for four years and has put together a solid side.”
“I’ve always said that Samp is a point of arrival for me, I want to do well here.”
Player to watch – Morgan De Sanctis, Roma
In his first start of the season, De Sanctis was very underwhelming. In Szczesny’s absence, the Italian shot stopper needs to be in top form to ensure as many points as possible. If Roma get into the habit of dropping points, they will not be able to catch Inter, and even Juve when they go on their inevitable run of wins. The back line will be tweaked and jostled a bit for this match, and De Sanctis will need to organize his defenders and minimize his errors.
Score prediction: Roma 4-3 Sampdoria
Goals, goals, goals. Two potent and attacks, two injured defense back lines, I predict a lot of scoring, but Roma will win this one at the death.
The post Match Preview: Roma vs Sampdoria appeared first on IFD.
from IFD http://ift.tt/1L5xhEe
via IFTTT berita selengkapnya Follow @jadwalliga
