Serie A: Huge Calcio Rivals Clash Anew in Turin

Juventus vs AS Roma

We are in for an exciting fixture this Sunday as Juventus host AS Roma at Turin for the eighth matchday of the 2021/22 Serie A campaign.

It’s not everyday that AS Roma are staring down at Juventus given their advantage over them in the standings. But nonetheless, we expect a blockbuster between these two Italian top-flight giants.

Under Jose Mourinho, AS Roma have risen to fourth place. The Giallorossi have 15 points, which is four points about the Bianconeri.

The hosts, meanwhile, are at seventh place with 11 points and are on a four-way tie with Lazio, Atalanta, and Bologna. Following their sluggish start to this season, Juventus are finally getting their groove and are ready to move up via another win.

As we look forward to another mouthwatering battle between Juventus and AS Roma, allow SBOTOP to dive deep into these two clubs here in this match preview.

Talking Points

Juventus gathering pace

Paulo Dybala will play a pivotal role in Juventus’ Serie A clash against AS Roma — Juventus’ Paulo Dybala celebrates after scoring against Sampdoria

Since Cristiano Ronaldo left for Manchester United, Juventus had quite a challenging adjusting period. I Bianconeri started the season with lacklustre Serie A 2021 results and many were wondering if the team can challenge for the Scudetto once more.

Amidst the pressure and intense scrutiny, instead of faltering, Juventus strapped their boots and went to work which resulted to morale-boosting victories.

Since their 2-1 defeat to Napoli last month, Juventus have returned to winning ways by going undefeated in seven consecutive games in all competitions.

Spearheading the charge was the front trio of Alvaro Morata, Paulo Dybala, and Federico Chiesa. But unfortunately for this contest, only one of them is expected to play.

Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata are both considered doubtful alongside Weston McKennie, while Adrien Rabiot won’t be available. Moise Kean is in line to deputise up front while Dejan Kulusevski and Federico Bernardeschi could feature too.

With Dybala and Morata out, all eyes are going to be on Federico Chiesa since he is in superb form.

The 23-year-old winger is the most expensive Italian as of the moment with a transfer value worth €100-M, which is a substantial price to consider if you’re his suitor.

AS Roma to sit out key players

The reason why AS Roma are coming in as underdogs is that they are beset with selection problems due to injury.

Skipper Lorenzo Pellegrini, Leonardo Spinazzola, Chris Smalling, and Nicolo Zaniolo are all not expected to play, while main striker Tammy Abraham is considered questionable at best.

Tammy Abraham has been on a tear since arriving in Rome from Chelsea this past summer with six goal contributions from his first 10 outings. In fact, because of his strong form, he has been recalled by the English national team during international break.

Unfortunately, Abraham is dealing with an ankle injury and AS Roma should be cautious in deploying their young star.

With him expected to be sidelined, Jose Mourinho will consider giving Eldor Shomurodov another start.

The Uzbekistan international has excelled at the supporting centre-forward role with one goal and four assists, but he may need to reconfigure his approach to take more of a lead role for this game.

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Serie A

History

Juventus love facing AS Roma particularly at home as they’ve won nine of their last 10 Serie A fixtures at the Allianz Stadium. The Giallorossi are in danger to become the first club to lose 10 league games in the said turf which opened in 2011.

Overall, Juventus have won 83 Serie A matches and scored 269 league goals against AS Roma, which is second-most behind Inter Milan (85) and Lazio (275) respectively.

These two clubs last met in February where I Bianconeri secured a 2-0 win, as Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the first half while Roger Ibanez had an unfortunate own goal in the second half.

Should Juventus win this Sunday, it will mark the first time since 2016 where they’ve recorded two straight Serie A wins over AS Roma. At the same time, Juventus could achieve four consecutive Serie A wins for the first time since July 2020.

Betting Tip

	Juventus vs AS Roma	Juventus Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 1.91
	October 18, 02:45 (GMT+8)

The Serie A 2021 odds are tipping Juventus to grab their fourth consecutive league victory this weekend.

Juventus are installed at 1.91 to win, while AS Roma are the underdogs at 4.10 and chances for a draw are at 3.30 in the 1X2 market.

AS Roma haven’t had much luck on the road lately. And given their subpar record at the Allianz Stadium, it’s a suggestion that Jose Mourinho still has ways to go to turn his team into a fully fledged contender here in Italian top-flight.