Roma attempts to quickly recover from their agonising Rome Derby loss when they travel to Sassuolo on Thursday night.
Roma are going for their fifth straight victory on the road against their opponents, who have just suffered back-to-back losses, in their final away game before Serie A breaks for the World Cup.
At the conclusion of a tense Derby della Capitale that was fiercely contested the entire time and ended in a touchline brawl, Lazio prevailed in the first meeting between both the teams this season, leaving Roma without a point.
Prior to kickoff at the electric Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, the two longtime rivals were tied atop the Serie A standings. Three days earlier, both teams had competed in Europa League action, with Jose Mourinho’s team earning a playoff matchup with Champions League exclusions RB Salzburg.
Felipe Anderson scored the game changing goal due to a terrible individual error by Roger Ibanez, who over-extended himself while the ball was in his own box. Pedro, an ex-Romanian, had previously pressured the Brazilian into making a costly error.
Mourinho’s team went on to lose at home for the third time this season in Serie A alone and for the fourth time overall, despite Nicolo Zaniolo later hitting the crossbar.
The Giallorossi’s top-four ambitions in addition to capital city supremacy are affected by the Derby loss because they now occupy sixth place in the league after losing two of their last three games, which is the same amount of games they had lost in the previous 12 games. They are now not only behind Lazio and the Derby d’Italia champions Juventus, but also already 10 points behind Napoli, who are currently in first place.
Roma, however, is immediately back on the road without any time for introspective reflection, and before hosting Torino in their final game of 2022 this coming weekend, they are currently attempting to record their fifth straight victory away from home for the first time since the 2017–18 season.
The most recent of Sassuolo’s four victories, a 2-2 draw in February of this year, came after they had dropped each of their first five Serie A meetings with Roma at home in Reggio Emilia. Last season, as demonstrated by that outcome, the Neroverdi could be counted on to score frequently; however, they are a different proposition now, having tightened up at the back while also sacrificing some firepower due to departures and injuries.
Alessio Dionisi’s team has dropped to 13th in the standings after two straight losses to Napoli and Empoli. They have also failed to score in their last two games; they now try to avoid going three games without scoring for the first time since February 2018.
While it was completely understandable to lose to the league leaders at Stadio Maradona, former Empoli manager Dionisi will have been much more miffed to have lost to his former team on Saturday, when Tommaso Baldanzi’s second-half goal was all that stood between them and two of the division’s lowest scoring teams.
While Sassuolo are still without attacking talisman Domenico Berardi, one of last season’s top performers. Hamed Traore recently returned from injury, and Andrea Pinamonti has yet to regain his top form since having to move to the Mapei Stadium on loan in the summer.
The hosts may need to rely on a more frugal defence since Roma has won five of its last seven away games. The hosts have so far kept a clean sheet in half of their home games.
Roma Team News
The results of a scan on Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini revealed a thigh injury sustained on Sunday will keep the midfielder out of the Giallorossi’s final two Serie A games this season, adding to Jose Mourinho’s problems following the derby.
Paulo Dybala is still injured, but there is a remote chance that he will make a brief appearance in Sunday’s match against Torino. Leonardo Spinazzola and Georginio Wijnaldum, two additional regulars, are still unable to play.
The visitors may make several changes to the team that lost to Lazio due to the recent quick turnaround of games. Experienced players Stephan El Shaarawy and Nemanja Matic are among those waiting for a chance. Tammy Abraham might be out of shape this term and resting, so Andrea Belotti would start.
Roma possible starting lineup:
Rui Patricio; Mancini, Smalling, Vina; Zalewski, Cristante, Matic, El Shaarawy; Volpato, Nicolo Zaniolo; Andrea Belotti
Sassuolo Team News
Andrea Pinamonti, a struggling Sassuolo striker, is expected to stay up front after scoring three Serie A goals against the visitors on Wednesday during various loan stints from Inter—against no other team has he scored more.
Davide Frattesi, a Rome native, will once more man the hosts’ midfield. He has three goals in six home games this season, which is two more than in 17 at the Mapei Stadium last term. Emil Konradsen Ceide or teenage winger Luca D’Andrea may be able to replace Armand Lauriente, whose return from suspension will increase Alessio Dionisi’s limited attacking options. However, fellow forwards Domenico Berardi and Gregoire Defrel are still out injured.
Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Consigli; Toljan, Erlic, Ferrari, Rogerio; Davide Frattesi, Lopez, Thorstvedt; Lauriente, Pinamonti, Hamed Traore
FOLLOW THIS ARTICLE ON TWITTER
Read More;
Inter Milan vs Bologna : Match preview, team news and possible lineups
Napoli vs Empoli : Match preview, team news and possible lineups
Cremonese vs AC Milan : Match preview, team news and possible lineups