Prediction: Juventus vs Roma

23rd January 2012

Serie A leaders Juventus aim to make it to Coppa Italia semi-finals at the expense of Roma, but that will be no easy task. The Giallorossi are finally playing to their potential and the game at Juventus Arena is a perfect opportunity for Luis Enrique’s side to prove they can match the best sides in Italy.

After getting tired of watching the backs of not only Milan and Inter, but also Napoli, Udinese and Roma season after season, Juventus chiefs decided to make radical changes in the summer, hoping that the team would finally be able to close the gap behind their title rivals. The arrival of boss Antonio Conte and several high-profile players served as a big boost, and Juventus soon started showing what they were capable off. Having failed to qualify for European competitions the previous season, the Bianconeri were able to fully focus on domestic competitions, as a result of which they now sit at the top of the Serie A standings and on the verge of qualifying for Coppa Italia semi-finals. Juventus have done brilliantly under Antonio Conte, partly thanks to the impressive defence that conceded just 12 goals in 19 Serie A games, and the back four is likely to be very similar to the one that kept a clean sheet against Atalanta, even though changes in other parts of the team are expected. Claudio Marchisio, Eljero Elia and Simone Pepe miss out through injury, whereas Luca Marrone, Emanuele Giaccherini and Marco Borriello are all expected to start.

Roma squad have also undergone big changes in the summer, with players like Erik Lamela, Bojan Krkic, Pablo Osvaldo and Miralem Pjanic significantly improving the quality of the side, but new boss Luis Enrique needed a lot of time to rebuild the squad. The good performance in the league draw with Juventus appears to have served as a big confidence boost, seeing that the Giallorossi won next five games in all competitions, showing everyone that they are not giving up on the Champions League places. Roma have shown a massive improvement at the back, having kept three clean sheets in last four games, and while they have been scoring goals for fun of late, their attackers could find it hard to break by far the best defence in Serie A. Daniele De Rossi, Pablo Osvaldo, Nicolas Burdisso and Marco Cassetti continue to miss out, but David Pizarro could return.

Conclusion

Having kept four clean sheets in last five games, Juventus are looking to keep their net intact, whereas they could face some problems up front without several first team regulars. Roma are expected to play a waiting game and try to hit the hosts on the break, so everything suggests we will see a very tight game in Turin.

Verdict: Under 2.5 goals

Best Odds: 8/9

Bookmaker: Betfair