Juventus vs. AS Roma: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
AS Roma venture north on Sunday, visiting Juventus Stadium and hoping to turn around their poor recent form. The Giallorossi appointed Luciano Spalletti as their new coach last week yet were unable to win at home against Hellas Verona in his first game in charge, held to a 1-1 draw by Serie A’s rock-bottom club.
That means the side has now recorded just one victory in their last 11 outings, a run that includes a Coppa Italia exit at the hands of Serie B side Spezia and a slump that ultimately cost former boss Rudi Garcia his job—the Frenchman paying the price for his team’s struggles.
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Having quit the same role back in 2009, Spalletti will hope to quickly arrest that slide, but faces a daunting task against the reigning Italian champions. AS Roma have lost in each of their last five visits to Turin—outscored by a 17-goal-to-three margin in the process—but will be buoyed by the knowledge they beat the Bianconeri the last time they met.
Yet the visitors will be fully aware of how much Juventus have improved since that August 30 clash, winning each of their last 10 Serie A matches while also reaching the cup semi-finals with a victory over Lazio in midweek.
That fixture saw coach Massimiliano Allegri able to make six changes to his side, hinting at the incredible depth of talent at his disposal, a matter that was discussed in further detail in this previous post.
Taking time to praise his “very competitive squad” at the traditional postmatch press conference, Allegri is of course expected to field a full-strength XI against the Giallorossi and is aware the test awaiting the Old Lady next time out.
“Now we turn our focus to Sunday and Roma, which will be a very tough match,” the Juve boss continued. “There remain 18 fixtures in the league, and the top five sides are still all challenging for title honours. We’re in great form at present, but we have to keep going.”
They will certainly be looking to do just that in what has proved to be an entertaining and hard-fought matchup in recent years, as two of the division’s best teams go head-to-head once again.
Date: Sunday, January 24, 2016
Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET
Venue: Juventus Stadium, Turin
TV Info: BT Sport Europe (UK) BeInSports 1 (U.S.)
Live Stream: BT Connect (UK)
Form Lines
Last five domestic results:
| Juventus 3-1 Fiorentina | Napoli 0-0 AS Roma |
| Carpi 2-3 Juventus | AS Roma 2-0 Genoa |
| Juventus 3-0 Hellas Verona | Chievo 3-3 AS Roma |
| Sampdoria 1-2 Juventus | AS Roma 1-1 Milan |
| Udinese 0-4 Juventus | AS Roma 1-1 Hellas Verona |
Probable Formations
Juventus (3-5-2): Gigi Buffon; Daniele Rugani, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini; Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sami Khedira, Claudio Marchisio, Paul Pogba, Alex Sandro; Mario Mandzukic, Paulo Dybala
Unavailable: Andrea Barzagli, Mario Lemina, Rubinho and Roberto Pereyra (all injured)
AS Roma: (4-2-3-1): Wojciech Szczęsny; Vasilis Torosidis, Kostas Manolas, Antonio Rudiger, Lucas Digne; Miralem Pjanic, Daniele De Rossi; Mohamed Salah, Radja Nainggolan, Alessandro Florenzi; Edin Dzeko
Unavailable: Ezequiel Ponce, Salih Ucan, Seydou Keita, Maicon, Gervinho (all injured)
Key Battle
While AS Roma laboured in that aforementioned draw with Hellas Verona, there were some positive signs for last year’s Serie A runners up, with perhaps the midfield performance of Radja Nainggolan chief among them.
The Belgium international scored the only goal for the Giallorossi, taking his tally for the campaign, and he appeared to enjoy being deployed in a more advanced role than he was previously used to.
That is likely to see him go toe-to-toe with Juventus’ key man Claudio Marchisio, a player whose influence upon the team has grown exponentially in recent seasons, particularly now that he is one of the senior figures.
“For me, there are no compromises. I play every game to win,” he told the club’s official website as he celebrated his 30th birthday.
And 2015/16 has seen Marchisio do just that. In his 14 appearances in all competitions this term, Juventus have lost just once, and he will hope to maintain that fine record against Nainggolan and Roma.
Player to Watch
If that midfield battle will be key, then perhaps the other man to keep a close eye on in this encounter is Mario Mandzukic. The striker has become a central part of Juve’s success in recent months, establishing himself as the first-choice partner for Paulo Dybala.
While the Argentinian has shot to prominence, his team-mate’s last five starts have seen him contribute five goals and an assist. Mandzukic has surpassed Alvaro Morata and Simone Zaza for that place in the starting XI, but the form of the latter is likely to see his place come under increased pressure.
That should spark a positive reaction from the Croatian star, whose hold-up play, defensive effort and tireless off-the-ball running add an extra dimension to Allegri’s side whenever he takes to the field.
If Juventus are to enjoy success against AS Roma, they will need Mandzukic at his sharpest to fully test a Giallorossi defence that will undoubtedly be paying more attention to Dybala.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Away win: 4-1
Home win: 100-143
Draw: 13-5
