AS Roma vs. Juventus: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Live Stream & TV Info
On Monday, Juventus will take the field at the Stadio Olimpico knowing victory will all but eliminate AS Roma from the Serie A title race. Having fallen nine points behind the Bianconeri, the team from the Italian capital will be galvanised by their tough victory over Feyenoord, as they emerged triumphant in an extremely hostile environment.
It was a timely boost for the Giallorossi, whose recent form has been difficult to decipher, drawing eight of their last 11 league games and labouring against teams they should be able to overcome. Rudi Garcia continues to have faith in his players however, believing that Thursday’s win in the Netherlands showed a number of positives.
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“The only thing we need now is to find some consistency,” the coach told the UEFA website shortly after the final whistle (h/t Football Italia). “The lads have shown that they haven’t forgotten how to play, now we must continue on this road.”
They will certainly need to be at their best as they take on the reigning champions, Massimiliano Allegri’s side having lost just once in the league this season, beaten 1-0 by Genoa back in October. While a penalty-shootout defeat to Napoli in the Super Cup remains their only defeat since then, Juventus are taking little for granted.
“We’re perfectly aware that it will be a tough match against Roma on their own patch,” midfielder Roberto Pereyra said last week, per the club’s official website. “The sides are separated by nine points but we can’t ease off - we must stay focused and look to do even more.”
Date: Monday, March 2
Time: 8:45 p.m. CET (7:45 GMT/12:45 EST)
Venue: Juventus Stadium, Turin
TV Info: beINSports (U.S.), BT Sport (UK)
Live Stream: beIN Sports CONNECT (U.S.)
Form Lines
Last five domestic results:
Predicted Line-ups
Player to Watch
With Andrea Pirlo ruled out through injury and Paul Pogba struggling with a knock of his own, perhaps the most important player in this tie is likely to be Arturo Vidal. Suffering from the effects of surgery back in the summer, the Chilean has yet to reach the heights of the previous three campaigns, but he remains an accomplished all-round midfielder who could decide this clash should he rediscover his best form.
There have only been glimpses of that this term—discussed at length here—but those games have been all too infrequent recently. Yet Vidal remains a major influence at both ends of the pitch, making his presence felt when it truly matters.
He has a tally of six league goals, trailing only Carlos Tevez, while statistics from WhoScored.com show he leads Juventus with an average of 2.9 tackles per game. Fresh from a superb display against Borussia Dortmund—analysed in detail here—he will once again be crucial to Juve’s hopes on Monday.
Key Battle
With both teams undoubtedly take their strength from the quality they possess in midfield, this encounter could well be decided out wide. The battle between Roma’s wingers and the Juventus full-backs is likely to determine which side emerges victorious at the Stadio Olimpico.
Gervinho has struggled to replicate the excellent form he displayed last term, but the Giallorossi have been lifted by a dramatic improvement from Adem Ljajic. The 23-year-old is the club’s leading scorer thanks to his return of eight goals, two more than he managed in the entire 2013-14 campaign.
The task of shackling the Serbian is likely to fall to Patrice Evra, who has been impressive since moving to Turin from Manchester United. WhoScored shows the Frenchman has averaged 1.8 tackles, 2.1 interceptions and 3.5 clearances per game, establishing himself as Allegri’s first-choice left-back.
Odds (via OddsShark)
Home win: 47/25
Away win: 7/5
Draw: 23/10
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