Picking a Combined AS Roma vs. Juventus XI Ahead of Serie A Clash

There is little doubt that AS Roma and Juventus are the two finest teams in Serie A, with the pair dominating the league in each of the last two seasons. They currently sit first and second, as they have since the campaign began and—given the gap to the trailing pack—seem almost certain to end 2014-15 in those positions.

Enjoying a nine-point gap over the Giallorossi, Juventus are markedly better than their nearest rivals, but Rudi Garcia has a number of highly talented stars at his disposal. When they go head-to-head on Monday, the Stadio Olimpico clash will witness a collection of the peninsula’s finest players.

Deciding on a combined XI is extremely difficult, such is the quality within the respective squads, but below is an attempt to find one team from these two clubs, picked solely on form this term not overall ability.

Goalkeeper

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Perhaps the most straightforward choice in the XI, Gigi Buffon is simply a far better goalkeeper than Roma’s Morgan De Sanctis. The Juventus captain has already recorded a league-high 13 clean sheets, adding a further three in the Champions league thus far.

Statistics from Fox Soccer show he has made just 42 saves compared to De Sanctis’ 53, but he has also looked far more confident and assured than the Giallorossi stopper.

Defence 

Juventus clearly boast the better defence, conceding just 13 league goals thus far, while Roma have allowed opponents to net five more times. Stephan Lichtsteiner is enjoying another fine campaign at right-back, with Patrice Evra settling well on the opposite flank following his move from Manchester United.

Injuries really remove any competition for that duo, while Leonardo Bonucci has been consistently excellent at the centre of the back line for the reigning champions. The same cannot be said of Giorgio Chiellini, while injury has limited the impact of Martin Caceres and Andrea Barzagli.

The absence of Leandro Castan has hurt the Giallorossi, but Kostas Manolas has proved to be a fine replacement for the departing Medhi Benatia. According to statistics from WhoScored, the Greek international has averaged 1.8 tackles, 2.5 interceptions and 5.6 clearances per game.

The same source shows he has also won 2.3 aerial duels per game and completed 92.3 percent of his passes.

Midfield 

Both clubs possess a plethora of midfield talent, making choosing a trio for this XI extremely difficult. Unfortunately for Roma, the form of a number of their stars makes that task much simpler, with Daniele De Rossi and Miralem Pjanic in particular looking woefully short of their best.

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With Kevin Strootman suffering through another lengthy lay-off and Andrea Pirlo not quite at his sharpest, the options are narrowed further still. Arturo Vidal turned in an excellent defensive display on Tuesday—discussed in detail here—but his knee injury continues to hamper his performances.

Radja Nainggolan has perhaps been Roma’s best midfielder this term, WhoScored showing he has averaged 2.7 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game. Claudio Marchisio is similarly shining for Juve, while Paul Pogba’s continual improvement has seen him linked with a move to Europe’s biggest club.

Attack 

Again, choosing the combination of attacking players to make the cut was extremely difficult. Francesco Totti is enjoying another solid season despite his age, weighing in with five goals and the same number of assists, continuing to make a vital contribution to his home-town club. 

Adem Ljajic is outperforming his captain, however, netting eight goals of his own and has certainly added more to the Roma attack than Gervinho. The Ivorian has failed to replicate the fine displays of last year, the former Arsenal and Lille man clearly lacking the edge that so typified his play in 2013-14.

At Juventus, Fernando Llorente has also disappointed, while new signing Alvaro Morata has replaced him in Allegri’s first-choice XI. Carlos Tevez continues to thrive in Turin, his goal against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday taking his tally for the current campaign to 19 in all competitions.

Final combined XI (4-3-3): Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Manolas, Evra; Vidal, Nainggolan, Pogba; Tevez, Morata, Ljajic

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