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Roma vs Verona will open matchday 21 in Serie A on Saturday and is the first game without Josè Mourinho in charge.
The Portuguese manager was under pressure after the Giallorossi’s negative results (they lost four of the last six), but few would have expected his early departure from the capital.
The visitors have recently sold some of their best players, but this season they are a tough nut to crack for Italy’s top sides.
After nailing his AC Milan vs Roma predictions last week, Italian football expert Daniele Fisichella delivers his tips on the match.
In this article:
Italy, Serie A, Saturday, January 20th, 17:00 (UK)
Roma suffered their seventh league defeat on Sunday against AC Milan.
The Giallorossi have eight points less in the table compared to a year ago and are out of the Coppa Italia.
Since December, they’ve only won four out of 10 games. That’s the kind of form that cost the Portuguese boss his job.
Roma, currently sitting at their lowest tally of 29 points after 20 matches since 2002/2003, have lately produced pugnacious, yet inconsistent performances. They lacked both spark in attack (only six goals scored in the last seven games) and defensive focus (only one clean sheet in the last six).
The long list of injured players and the tough run of fixtures, where Roma have faced seven of the top 8 teams in Italy in the last month, can only represent a partial excuse.
The 13-point gap on third placed AC Milan is too much for a team that was meant to improve year on year.
Luckily for whoever is going to replace Mourinho, two of the next three games will be played at the Olimpico, where their performances have been much more convincing.
In fact, they’ve only lost one game (2-1 vs Milan) this season, boast the second best domestic attack (22), and have found the net in the last 24 home games in all competitions.
Verona are in an unusual phase: their results are improving on the pitch. They picked up their second win in the last four matches on Saturday.
However, in order to make up for a shortfall in their finances, they’ve already sold four of their best players (Hien, Terracciano, Faraoni and Hongla), with Scottish left-back Josh Doig close to joining OM Marseille.
Should they also lose their top goalscorer Cyril Ngonge this month, who has netted six goals so far, and is linked with Napoli, it would be really hard to imagine how they can avoid the drop.
Verona, who have only won two away games since last season, are four points better off in the table compared to 2022/2023, when they mounted a great comeback and eventually beat Spezia in the play-off.
Despite the adversities, Verona haven’t given up the fight, and have scored in six of their last eight matches, including against Inter and Lazio.
In the last few weeks, they’ve been playing more on the front foot, and remain a very physical and organized side. They’ve only conceded three goals from set pieces.
Two weeks ago, they were unfortunate to come out of San Siro with no points after their brave performance against leaders Inter.
This season, Verona have not suffered any heavy beating. In their away games, they lost by just one goal against Juventus, AC Milan and Fiorentina.
Ultimately, these narrow defeats might show a dangerous tendency at falling short against top oppositions. However, given Roma’s crisis, their absentees and the nervousness in the environment, the team from Veneto could have more than a chance to produce an upset.
It won’t be an easy game for Roma, but at the Olimpico they’re no stranger to last gasp wins or comebacks.
This season, they’ve already won three home games by just one goal margin against Lecce, Monza and Cremonese, in addition to winning 3-1 against Udinese and 2-0 against Frosinone and Napoli.
The odds for a 2-1 home win are very high. That’s why it’s worth betting just a small stake.
Roma vs Verona Prediction odds via bet365 as at 12:00, January 15th, 2024. Odds may now differ.
Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante are both suspended, as Roma will also miss Azmoun (Asian Cup), and both Ndicka and Aouar at the AFCON.
Paulo Dybala is still dealing with his muscle problems, and might have to sit this game out. Renato Sanches, Smalling and Tammy Abraham are also all injured.
Three Verona players are suspended: Coppola, Duda and Lazovic. Josh Doig should join OM Marseille during the week.
POSITION | CLUB | GAMES | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Inter | 38 | 27.9 | 6.6 | 3.5 | 85.1 | 23.9 | 61.1 | 90.2 |
2 | Juventus | 38 | 25.4 | 8.4 | 4.2 | 61.4 | 25.7 | 35.7 | 84.6 |
3 | AC Milan | 38 | 20.5 | 7.6 | 10.0 | 64.2 | 43.4 | 20.9 | 69.0 |
4 | Napoli | 38 | 17.8 | 8.3 | 11.9 | 61.6 | 45.8 | 15.8 | 61.7 |
5 | Bologna | 38 | 16.1 | 13.2 | 8.6 | 45.8 | 34.5 | 11.2 | 61.6 |
6 | AS Roma | 38 | 17.0 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 58.0 | 39.4 | 18.7 | 61.1 |
7 | Lazio | 38 | 17.3 | 8.0 | 12.7 | 48.6 | 39.8 | 8.9 | 60.0 |
8 | Atalanta | 38 | 17.2 | 7.8 | 13.0 | 56.9 | 43.2 | 13.7 | 59.4 |
9 | Fiorentina | 38 | 16.3 | 7.8 | 13.9 | 50.4 | 46.1 | 4.3 | 56.7 |
10 | Torino | 38 | 13.9 | 11.5 | 12.7 | 38.5 | 38.1 | 0.3 | 53.1 |
11 | Monza | 38 | 11.9 | 11.7 | 14.4 | 41.5 | 48.3 | -6.8 | 47.4 |
12 | Genoa | 38 | 10.9 | 11.6 | 15.4 | 37.5 | 44.7 | -7.2 | 44.4 |
13 | Sassuolo | 38 | 10.9 | 8.4 | 18.7 | 50.1 | 63.8 | -13.7 | 41.2 |
14 | Frosinone | 38 | 10.8 | 8.7 | 18.6 | 47.4 | 62.8 | -15.4 | 41.0 |
15 | Udinese | 38 | 8.3 | 15.8 | 13.9 | 42.2 | 56.8 | -14.5 | 40.8 |
16 | Lecce | 38 | 9.0 | 13.5 | 15.4 | 40.9 | 56.2 | -15.3 | 40.7 |
17 | Cagliari | 38 | 8.9 | 10.7 | 18.4 | 39.6 | 60.6 | -21.0 | 37.4 |
18 | Verona | 38 | 7.8 | 10.0 | 20.2 | 33.4 | 53.0 | -19.6 | 33.4 |
19 | Empoli | 38 | 7.6 | 8.8 | 21.7 | 27.7 | 62.4 | -34.6 | 31.5 |
20 | Salernitana | 38 | 5.3 | 10.1 | 22.6 | 31.5 | 73.9 | -42.4 | 25.9 |
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