Roma start their quest to end Juventus’ supremacy on Sunday morning in the 2016-17 Serie A season’s curtain-raiser as they face Udinese at the Stadio Olimpico.
I Giallorossi are searching for their first Scudetto since 2001, while Beppe Iachini’s outfit will hope to improve on last year’s finish, where the club narrowly avoided relegation.
Key Battle – Edin Džeko vs Duvan Zapata
Both team’s chances of winning seem dependent on their potency in attack. Edin Džeko endured a disappointing run last campaign, scoring just 10 times in 39 appearances for I Lupi. The 30-year-old Bosnian will be hoping to get off to a great start this time around, after showing promising form during his club’s preseason.
Meanwhile, Udinese’s Duvan Zapata will be hoping to impress for Le Zebrette after missing much of 2015-16 through injury. He is halfway through a two-year loan from Napoli, and will aim to use his strong physique to intimidate Roma’s defence.
Team News
Vasilis Torosidis did not complete training on Friday and will sit out for Roma along with Alessandro Florenzi, who Luciano Spalletti will not risk ahead of his side’s clash with Porto in the Champions League playoff on Wednesday morning. Bruno Peres is expected to start less than a week after his transfer from Torino, while Thomas Vermaelen will be given his Serie A debut as he is suspended for the continental match. Antonio Rudiger and Mario Rui are also unavailable, with both suffering knee injuries in the off-season.
Meanwhile, last season’s top-scorer Cyril Thereau is the only absence for I Bianconeri as he sits out the opening two matches due to suspension, leaving Ryder Matos to partner Zapata in attack.
AS Roma expected lineup (4-3-3): Szczesny (GK), Peres, Manolas, Vermaelen, Juan Jesus; De Rossi, Strootman, Paredes, Nainggolan; Salah, Džeko, El Shaarawy.
Udinese expected lineup (3-5-2): Karnezis (GK), Heurtaux, Danilo, Felipe; Widmer, Badu, Lodi, De Paul, Armero; Ryder Matos, Duvan Zapata.
Head-to-head
The two teams have met 32 times before, with Roma winning 19 times. Udinese have taken the three points on eight occasions and the other five games ended in a draw. I Bianconeri’s last victory in the Eternal City came in October 2012.
Previous Meeting
Roma, , won the previous encounter between the two sides in March 2-1 with strikes from Džeko and Florenzi, before Bruno Fernandes pulled one back for Udinese at the Stadio Friuli.
Prediction
Roma seem to be second in Italy only to Juventus at the moment, with great depth across the field. The recent additions of Bruno Peres and Vermaelen to their defence will be integral to any hopes they have for silverware this season.
Both teams are heavy in attack, but the defence of Spalletti’s men will be tough to break down. The home side’s attacking trident will also prove too hard to contain for Udinese. Roma will be aiming to gain some momentum going into Wednesday morning’s season-defining clash with Porto, while looking to keep up with Juventus from the start.
Roma 3 Udinese 0
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