The battle for European places heats up this weekend as Roma host Juventus in Serie A on Sunday. The Turin club appear to have found their rhythm in recent weeks and should have the edge over Roma who remain erratic and without manager Jose Mourinho.
Roma are coming off a shock defeat to previously winless Cremonense last time out in Serie A. They fell behind early in the encounter but struck back in the second half through Leonardo Spinazzola before conceding the winner seven minutes from time.
That result is typical of Roma’s erratic campaign as they had been unbeaten in their previous three Serie A matches. Despite the defeat, they remain in the mix for a Champions League spot, sitting just one point behind fourth placed Lazio.
The good news for Roma is that they have done some good work at the Stadio Olimpico, winning their last four Serie A home matches. However, they will be without manager Jose Mourinho on Sunday with the Portuguese gaffer serving a two match suspension.
Juventus have reacted positively to their 15-point deduction and are playing themselves back into European contention. Having previously dropped into the bottom half of the table, they are now up to seventh and travel to the capital unbeaten in their last seven matches across all competitions, claiming six wins in that run.
The Turin club picked up a 4-2 victory over local rivals Torino in their previous Serie A fixture. They fought back from a goal down with goals from Juan Cuadrado, Danilo, Bremer and Adrien Rabiot earning them the win.
The victory over Torino was Juventus’ fourth straight Serie A win. Massimiliano Allegri’s men have also impressed on their travels with seven wins in their last eight away matches across all competitions.
How the bookies view it
The bookies appear to be split on this one with a win for Roma priced at 20/11 by SBK while a Juventus victory is valued at 15/8 by bet365. A draw is set at odds of 21/10 by BoyleSports.
Head to head
Juventus have a 31-16 advantage with 19 draws from 66 previous matches against Roma. The Turin club have also won three of the last four meetings, although the reverse fixture back in August ended in a 1-1 draw.
Players to watch
Paulo Dybala could be worth keeping an eye on for Roma as he looks to get one over on his former club. The attacker has eight Serie A goals this season and is priced at 3/1 with bet365 to find the net on Sunday.
Dusan Vlahovic is the leading scorer for Juventus with eight Serie A goals and has played a pivotal role in their resurgence since the points deduction. The Serbian striker was also in target in the reverse fixture and is priced at 5/2 by Unibet to get on the score sheet on Sunday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Juventus claimed a 4-3 victory in the last meeting at the Stadio Olimpico and given their result against Torino on Wednesday, another high scoring encounter could be on the cards. Over 3.5 goals is valued at 17/4 with BetVictor, over 2.5 goals is priced at 6/4 by bet365 while Unibet is offering odds of 11/10 on both teams to score.
The Turin club have scored first in three of the last four meetings with Roma and could be backed to grab the opener on Sunday at 6/5 with bet365.
This Serie A match between Roma and Juventus will be played on Mar 5, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Roma vs Juventus prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
