Juve and Roma square off tomorrow at the Allianz Stadium in Turin in a mouth-watering clash with potential Champions League and Scudetto implications.
The Giallorossi enter the match in the not-so-best of form while the Bianconeri seem to have turned things up a notch and haven’t conceded a goal in seven matches in all competitions.
Juve are the favorites for this match-up, which pits their league-leading attack against Roma’s league-leading defence. In order to snatch a result in Turin, the Giallorossi will certainly need good performances from several: let’s a take a look at who Roma will need to step up in order to claim victory over Max Allegri’s side.
DIEGO PEROTTI
Roma have had major problems over the course of the last month in creating quality goal-scoring opportunities. The Giallorossi’s only technical player in attack seems to be the former Genoa-man and he will need to be the main source of creativity for Eusebio Di Francesco’s attack, which has only scored more than 1 goal in a match twice since 18 November in all competitions. Furthermore, in their last five away matches in all competitions, Roma have scored only four goals. Roma have labored throughout their last eight matches in both creating chances and scoring goals, two trends that will have to be negated if they want to have any hope against Juventus. Perotti has been struggling as of late and the showdown with Juve represents the perfect opportunity for the Argentinian international to get back on track.
EDIN DZEKO
Roma’s lack of creativity has affected nobody more than Dzeko. As a result of Roma’s recent inability to create goal-scoring opportunities, Edin Dzeko has, obviously, been the main casualty. The Bosnian #9 has certainly had a dip in form this season after being crowned last season’s capocannoniere.
Dzeko has scored only 1 goal in his last 10 appearances in all competitions after having started the season in sensational form. Should the Giallorossi continue their trend against Juve of creating meager goal scoring opportunities, they will ultimately have to make the most of the few chances they have, with Dzeko being no exception.
EUSEBIO DI FRANCESCO
The former Sassuolo manager is currently enduring his toughest spell since being appointed Roma’s manager in the summer. After having qualified first in the group in the Champions League as well as a positive early run in Serie A, Di Francesco has encountered a rough patch over the last month, however, a positive result against Juve could turn the tides. The Giallorossi’s inability to score has negatively affected the team’s recent results and Di Francesco has yet to resolve this issue. While the team has remained solid in defence, Di Francesco will have to find a way to open up space and allow his players to get in behind the opposition defence, which they’ve failed to do for nearly a month.
