Roma vs Venezia

Top-six bidders Roma will be looking to bounce back from a faltering four-game winless Serie A run (D2, L2) when they take on basement boys Venezia at the Stadio Olimpico.

Roma’s underwhelming 2-0 defeat at fellow top-six hopefuls Fiorentina last time out saw Jose Mourinho turn his tears of joy for leading ‘I Giallorossi’ to their first European final in 31 years into another rant at refereeing. With his side now level on points with ‘La Viola,’ the match against rock-bottom Venezia is a must-win one, with Roma looking to build on their impressive seven-game unbeaten home form in Serie A (W4, D3). Despite winning the league’s fourth-high 35 Serie A points at home this season, ‘I Giallorossi’ have netted a mere 25 league goals at the Stadio Olimpico thus far, averaging 1.38 per game. They are likely to improve their paltry scoring record here, though, having bagged 2+ goals in four of their last five top-flight H2Hs, including a 3-2 defeat in the reverse fixture.

Venezia’s unexpected H2H triumph at the Stadio Pierluigi Penzo means they could register their first league double over Roma for the first time in their top-flight history. Achieving that feat will be of the utmost importance as the visitors head into the penultimate round of Serie A matches lagging five points behind safety. Though a morale-boosting 4-3 home triumph over Bologna last time out could lift the spirits in the travelling camp, Venezia’s disastrous six-game losing streak on the road suggests they could be in for another disappointing weekend. Having arrested an uneventful ten-game losing Serie A streak against Bologna, Venezia are not targeting back-to-back top-flight victories for the second time this season. Interestingly, their previous such feat saw them beat non-other than Bologna and Roma.