Striker shortage threatens Serie A´s Roma run

AS Roma’s incredible 19-match unbeaten run will come under threat this weekend due to a striker crisis that will see both Francesco Totti and Luca Toni miss out.

Roma’s recent form has seen them win 16 and draw three of their last 19 games, a sequence that has propelled them to second in Serie A and seen them progress in both the Europa League and Coppa Italia.

But with a tough tie against Champions League chasing Palermo on Saturday, it’s a bad time to have your top two forwards out injured.

The Sicilians will arrive in the capital in buoyant mood as they sit just one point and one place outside a Champions League qualification position in fifth.

And Roma will have to rely on Montenegro forward Mirko Vucinic if they are to take anything from this game, although he proved the match-winner in their 1-0 success at Fiorentina last weekend, a game in which Roma were second best throughout.

The giallorosso sit nine points behind leaders Inter Milan as they continue to pay for a poor start to the season that saw them lose their first two matches and then three more in a row in October.

Those three defeats are what separate them from the four-in-a-row champions but they will have been encouraged by Parma’s 1-1 draw with Inter on Wednesday.

And Jose Mourinho’s champions arguably have a tougher weekend test away to Napoli, who had been on a 15-match unbeaten run in the league before losing 3-1 at Udinese last time out.

Although fourth-place Napoli’s own run came to end, there were mitigating circumstances as they had to play more than half the match with 10 men following Cristian Maggio’s dismissal.

Even so, a minute from time they hit the post with the scores at 1-1, only to then be punished twice in injury time — so fine are the lines between victory and defeat.

Napoli will also be boosted by the probable return of Argentine playmaker Ezequiel Lavezzi, who has missed the last month with a thigh injury.

However, Inter too will have Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder back from suspension and despite their midweek draw, they do have forwards Goran Pandev and Diego Milito in fine form.

If Napoli can take something away from then game, though, then they won’t be the only ones celebrating and nor will Roma.

AC Milan, who play on Friday night — a first in Italian top flight football — are hoping to bounce back from their recent poor run as they host Udinese.

Milan have drawn two and lost two of their last four matches, including a 1-0 reverse at home to Udinese in the Italian Cup.

Their two points from their last three league matches has seen them drop to third, 11 points behind Inter, although they do have a game in hand.

They also had some good news when they announced on Thursday that both centre-back Alessandro Nesta and young Brazilian forward Pato are available after injury.

One team desperate for a change in fortunes is Juventus who host Genoa on the back of a run of three wins, two draws and nine defeats in their last 14 matches.

They are at least unbeaten in coach Alberto Zaccheroni’s two games in charge since he took over from the sacked Ciro Ferrara, although they have failed to win either.

Lazio were the latest club to change coaches in midweek as former Napoli boss Edy Reja replaced Davide Ballardini after the Rome-based club dropped into the relegation zone following their 1-0 home defeat to Catania last weekend.

They travel to Parma on Sunday hoping their new boss can spark some life into the fallen giants, who only a decade ago were champions and last season lifted the Cup.

Fixtures

Friday

AC Milan v Udinese

Saturday

AS Roma v Palermo, Sampdoria v Fiorentina

Sunday

Cagliari v Bari, Catania v Atalanta, Chievo v Siena, Juventus v Genoa, Livorno v Bologna, Napoli v Inter Milan, Parma v Lazio