Soccer Italy Serie A 6 March 2023

AS Roma vs Juventus - Match Preview

It’s been quite the week for Roma, but for all the wrong reasons as they became the first side in Serie A (SA) to be beaten by Cremonese on Tuesday (2-1). Their troubles don’t stop there though, as with José Mourinho dismissed from the touchline following an alleged altercation with the fourth official and now threatening legal action, off-field drama has overshadowed the build up to the visit of Juventus.

Mourinho’s antics wreak of a man trying to deflect pressure, but with the Portuguese boss now banned from the touchline for two games, the ‘Special One’ has perhaps plunged his side into deeper trouble. He will, however, hope his side will be able to navigate this weekend’s clash without him considering Roma have won each of their last four home league games ‘to nil’ in their quest to cement a first top-four finish since 2017/18.

Roma’s bid to secure that feat has almost certainly been helped by Juventus’ off-field drama, with their 15 point deduction leaving them playing serious catch up in the race for the UEFA Champions League spots (UCL). In fact, had Juventus not lost those 15 points they would actually sit in second place, but with four successive SA victories, the Old Lady seem to have prospered in the face of adversity.

Completing a true footballing fairytale and regaining their spot in the top four will still require an enormous effort, with Juve trailing the UCL spots by no fewer than ten points ahead of the round. They look well placed to perhaps claw back some ground this weekend though, with six wins ‘to nil’ from their last seven away league games (L1) sure to boost confidence ahead of a trip to the Italian capital.

📋 Players to watch: Despite scoring over a century of goals for Juventus, Paulo Dybala now dons the famous maroon of Roma and has seen seven of his eight league goals this term arrive before the 50 minute mark. Starting equally as early was Dušan Vlahović in the reverse fixture (1-1), but his 2nd minute strike wasn’t enough to secure a first ever personal H2H win against Roma (D1, L5).

⚡ Hot stat: Referee Fabio Maresca has shown an average of 5.25 yellow cards per game in SA this season.