After drawing and losing in Serie A’s opening week, Roma and Juventus will go head-to-head at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday in a bout featuring the top two teams from last season.
After making several splashes in the winter and summer mercatos, Roma will now get to test all their new talent against the only team they were looking up at last season, Juventus. The Bianconieri, after losing to Udinese in the opening week, will be eager to bounce back and get a crucial early season win against the team most pundits believe have the firepower to usurp them. The Giallorossi, who drew with Chievo Verona during the leagues first matchday, will be gunning for all three-points and looking to make a statement. Juventus won the first meeting between the two sides around this time last year thanks to some immense late game heroics by Leonardo Bonucci, while the second match was a 1-1 stalemate. Roma will be looking to increase their lead in overall wins: when the two sides met at the Olimpico of Rome the home side won 29 matches, the bianconeri 25 times, while the match ended in a draw 27 times.
Roma
The Capitoline side will look for their home supporters to rally behind as they look to show how far they’ve come against the title-holding Bianconieri. Fans of Roma will have to be hoping that one of their many attacking options steps up and provides some goals. Iago Falque, Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah all arrived with much fanfare this summer, and there would be no better a time for one of them to step up than a match against Juventus. This match will be a major gauge into how far this Roma project has come, and while a negative result won’t make or break their season, it surely will send a bad message after all of the spending the last two transfer windows. Roma will continue to be without long term absentee Kevin Strootman, and German Antonio Rudiger.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Szczesny; Maicon, Castan, Manolas, Torosidis; Naingollan, De Rossi, Pjanic; Iago Falque, Dzeko, Salah
Juventus
Week 1 was a major disappointment for the Bianconieri, and Max Allegri took some heat from fans for everything from his formations to his substitutions. The loss to Udine was a small setback, but a victory against title rivals Roma will be a giant leap forward. As big a fan I am of Kingsley Coman, starting him last week was a mistake, as was the decision to start Padoin in midfield. Allegri will right those wrongs this week, and the Bianconieri will be looking for the youth in attack to produce goals and the midfielders to dominate possession and create chances. How the likes of Pogba and Pereyra stack up against Pjanic and Naingollan will go a very long way in determining who wins this match. If they can create chances for themselves, or for Mandzukic and Dybala, it is likely that La Madama will get the desired result on Sunday. Juventus will be missing midfielders Khedira, Asamoah and Marchisio, but see Morata return from injury.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Caceres; Lichtsteiner, Pogba, Padoin, Pereyra, Evra; Mandzukic, Dybala
Notable Quotes:
Massimilliano Allegri, Juventus Coach
“Dybala will play, Morata’s back and Padoin will figure in front of the defence. Simone is the only player capable of operating in that role, putting anyone else there would be a risk. I thought he had a good game last Sunday against Udinese, as did the rest of the team. Cuadrado will be on the bench.”
“Coman is on his way and has asked to leave. I’ve picked him for our first two games, but he’s decided his future lies elsewhere. Isla is also departing and has a few options available to him.“
“Roma are an excellent side and, alongside us and Inter, one of the favourites for the title. It’s likely they’ll come out all guns blazing after finishing behind us last season, so we need to play with the right intensity and be confident in our qualities.”
Rudi Garcia, Roma Coach
“All the clubs – and not just Juventus – have an entire season to prove their doubters wrong. I’ve already said what I think about them: They remain a top-level side and tomorrow will be a top-level match. We’ll have to be at our best to win it.”
“They’ve signed Mandzukic, Zaza, Dybala, Khedira, Alex Sandro and I’m sure I’m forgetting someone. The team that won the last four league titles is always going to be top quality. No one is at their best at the start of the season but we’ve tried to work our way up towards 100% over the last week.”
“I want to see more intensity. We have to start the game tomorrow as if we were trailing by a goal and play to win from the off.”
Player to watch – Paul Pogba
Being handed the number 10 shirt at a club like Juventus is no small matter. The Frenchman turned in a fairly pedestrian performance against Udinese in week 1, and will be hoping to make more of an impact against Roma. He is quick enough and has the dribbling skills to outpace almost anyone the Giallorossi trot out onto the pitch, but he needs to be smart when making key passes and maintain possession. Juve cannot afford to have Roma go on the counter against them, with the likes of Mo Salah and Edin Dzeko patrolling their front line, it would be a nightmare for the Old Lady’s defense. Pogba needs to be physical, keep possession, and make plenty of chances for his attackers.
He’s been linked to every top club in the world, and it’s games like this where your team needs to both bounce back and make a statement that world class players need to show up. This is his chance.
Score Prediction: Roma 0-2 Juventus
At the end of the day, Juventus’ midfield will put in a much more consistent performance, that ultimately decides the match. Look for Dybala to get on the scoresheet for the Bianconieri.
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