Roma vs Juventus

Stadio Olimpico sets the stage for a blockbuster Serie A contest between Roma and Juventus. 

Back to Serie A action after a 2-0 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie, Roma must bounce back quickly to preserve their hopes of securing next season’s Champions League berth. Despite occupying the last qualification spot at the start of Matchday 35, Daniele De Rossi’s men boast a slender two-point lead on sixth-placed Atalanta, who also have a game in hand. Anything other than a win against Juventus could compromise their top-five aspirations, but that’s a side they’ve lost to on more occasions (85) than against any other club in Serie A history. With four of those defeats coming in their last six H2Hs (W1, D1), the expectations are low, even though that only success saw ‘I Giallorossi’ win 1-0 in this corresponding fixture in 2022/23.

Meanwhile, Juventus outplayed AC Milan in last weekend’s derby but had to settle for a third straight Serie A stalemate (0-0), failing to bridge a five-point gap on the runner-up spot. Massimiliano Allegri’s men will rely on Roma’s dreadful run of seven league defeats from as many games against sides currently above them in the table to get back to winning ways. However, they’ve traveled poorly of late, going winless in seven consecutive domestic away matches (D3, L4) since a 3-0 thumping of Lecce in January. Ominously for the visiting fans, their troops scored more than once in just one of those seven games, highlighting Allegri’s uneventful frontline as the team’s weakest link. What’s worse, they’ve conceded first on five of their last six Serie A travels!