Roma welcome Genoa in the last Serie A fixture of the year, with ambitions to return to the title race with one last victory, while the visitors will try not to end the year in the relegation zone.
Roma had their fun in the early days of the season and even occupied the top of the table for a while. But as soon as the fixtures against the regular title contenders rolled in, it became clear that the Wolves were not even remotely ready for the challenge.
Their defeats against AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli, Juventus, and the disasterclass against Cagliari crushed their title plans, although they remain just three points behind the current leaders.
Roma’s trump card is their defence – the best in the league, but the days when a strong defence was enough to win Serie A titles are long gone.
Roma have scored the fewest goals in the Top 10, and the main positive ahead of this match is the fact they won four of their last five fixtures at Stadio Olimpico.
On the other side of the pitch, Genoa began to slide towards relegation once again, with their last two defeats undoing all the progress the Griffin had made with their five-game unbeaten run.
Genoa are one of only five teams to have scored fewer goals than Roma this season, which should please Gian Piero Gasperini and the Wolves' fans.
How the bookies view it: The Wolves to claim the points at Stadio Olimpico
There are no surprises in the bookmakers' odds – Roma are the favourites, but their advantage is not that huge and there is still value for a potential bet.
You can back the hosts at 13/20, while Genoa are available at 11/2. If you expect the teams to share the points, you can choose the draw at 5/2.
Recent head-to-head: Genoa – 1 win; Roma – 15 wins
Genoa cannot boast many successes against Roma in recent years. In fact, they have only one victory over the Wolves in the last 21 H2H matches, which happened at home in 2023.
As visitors, the picture is even worse. Genoa's last victory at Stadio Olimpico dates back to 1990 – 35 years ago.
Players to watch: Soule can carry Roma to victory
This is perhaps the most unsuitable matchup if you want to bet on a goalscorer, as both teams have problems scoring goals.
Roma's top scorer is Matias Soule with just four goals, while Genoa does not have a single player with more than two goals this season.
We would rather advise you to skip this match, but if you still want to place such a bet, Soule is the best choice because he also provides assists. He has three assists in his last three matches, so Betano's market for a goal or assist is not a bad offer.
Probable line-ups
Roma: Svilar, Rensch, Mancini, Hermoso, Celik, Cristante, Kone, Wesley, Dybala, Soule, Ferguson
Genoa: Sommariva, Vasquez, Ostigard, Marcandalli, Norton-Cuffy, Malinkovskyi, Frendrup, Ellertsson, Maria, Colombo, Vitinha
Anything else catch the eye?
This is a difficult match to predict due to the different performances of the two teams in recent weeks. Roma have not been involved in many overs, while Genoa had 3+ goals in seven of their last eight fixtures.
Based on the significance of this fixture, we can’t imagine a goal-packed match. Roma’s defence is excellent, and their real problem is scoring goals. We expect a 1-0 or a 2-0 win, but you shouldn’t go heavy with the stakes and definitely do not add this fixture to accumulator bets.
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