AS Roma vs Juventus preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

AS Roma welcome Juventus to Stadio Olimpico on Sunday as the race for a top-four finish continues to heat up.

Six points separates these two sides with Juventus sitting ahead in third position with 65 points while Roma currently occupies fifth position with 59 points.

The Giallorossi have enjoyed a rapid rise in form since the appointment of 616-cap Roma legend, Daniele De Rossi as head coach back in January. Despite these, the three-time Italian Champions are facing a gruelling battle to secure Champions League qualification as they currently sit four points adrift of Bologna in fourth place.

On the other hand, Juventus started the season on a high pedestal that saw them constantly switch first and second positions with emerging Champions, Inter Milan.

Their flying start to the season suffered a downward turn when the Serie A giants endured a winless run that lasted close to two months. The 1:0 win over Fiorentina back in early April looked to have put Massimiliano Allegri’s side back on track but several inconsistent results have seen them drop down the pecking order to third place.

On a positive note, Allegri’s side holds a chance to secure silverware this season after reaching the Coppa Italia final, where they will face Atalanta on May 15th; but first, they have to avoid defeats and secure at least two victories to solidify their third-place position and a Champions League qualification ahead of next season.

For the home side, De Rossi has turned his side into a more formidable side that will battle until the final whistle and that will likely be the case in their race for the top four despite being five points behind.

The congestive fixture schedule may have impacted Roma who have played three matches in quick succession. The Giallorossi completed the remaining 18 minutes of their suspended tie with Udinese where the last-minute Bryan Cristante strike gave them a 2:1 victory at the Bluenergy Stadium before playing out a 2:2 draw with Napoli last weekend.

Paulo Dybala continued his rapid form when he opened the scoring at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona early in the second half before Mathias Olivera equalised five minutes later to draw the tie level. Victor Osimhen hoped to have secured all three points after scoring an 84th-minute penalty only for Tammy Abraham to strike late into regulation time to secure a point for Roma.

Their bid for a third successive European final was dealt a huge blow when they faced German Champions, Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday night. With just two attempts on goal, the Giallorossi were second-best in the game and proved to be no match for Xabi Alonso’s side who ran out 2:0 winners at the Stadio Olimpico.

They now gear up to face a Juventus side whom they have secured only one victory in their last seven matches.

After playing out a 0:0 draw against Torino and a 2:2 draw against Cagliari, Juventus made it three successive draws in the Serie A when they hosted AC Milan at the Allianz Stadium last weekend.

Despite being the better side for the entire duration of the game, and recording more goal attempts, a flurry of missed chances denied the 36-time Italian Champions from gaining all three points. Allegri’s well-structured defence line kept Milan’s attack at arm’s length as the Rossoneri ended the game without a shot on target.

1. The Bianconeri will hope to end their abysmal away run without a win since the 3:0 win over Lecce in January and will also aim for a league double over Roma having won 1:0 in the first leg.

AS Roma vs Juventus match details

• Date: Sunday, 5 May, 2024
• Location: Rome, Italy
• Venue: Stadio Olimpico
• Kick-off time: 2:45 PM ET,19:45 PM BST, 18:45 PM UTC
• Referee: Andrea Colombo
• Tickets: Supporters can get Juventus tickets for the game through the club website or at reputable online reseller Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

• These two sides have clashed 69 times with Juventus holding the superior advantage having recorded 32 wins in this fixture against Roma’s 17 wins while 20 matches have ended in a draw.

• Abraham’s 88th-minute equaliser in the 2:2 draw against Napoli last weekend meant the Giallorossi have now scored 20 goals in the last 15 minutes of the game in the Serie A, the most by any team this season.

• Juventus have failed to score in the first half on 21 different occasions in the Serie A this season.

• Allegri’s side have recorded six draws in their last 15 matches in the league in 2024. Only Torino and Genoa have drawn more matches in the competition with seven draws respectively.

• Juventus’ 0:0 draw against Milan was the first time the Bianconeri drew three consecutive matches since doing so between September and October 2020.

• Juventus forward, Dusan Vlahovic is the only player in Serie A to record double figures in 2024, having scored ten goals in 12 appearances this year.

• The Bianconeri have recorded only one win in their last eight Serie A matches.

• Although Sunday’s clash will be played at the Stadio Olimpico, Roma remain winless in their last seven matches against Juventus at the Allianz Stadium.

• Five of the last six matches between Roma and Juventus have seen less than three goals scored by both sides.

• Wojciech Szczęsny has kept 100 clean sheets in 249 matches across all competitions for Juventus, the most by any goalkeeper in the League since the 6ft 5in goalkeeper made his debut in the 2017-18 season.

Team news

De Rossi’s side will be boosted by the returns of Diego Llorente and Leandro Paredes who will both be available for this clash after serving suspensions in Serie A last weekend.

Romelu Lukaku has returned to full team training after being out with an injury. However, the Belgium International will undergo an assessment ahead of the crucial showdown against Juventus.

Lorenzo Pellegrini and Chris Smalling are expected to shake off minor muscular injuries to be in contention for a place in the starting lineup on Sunday.

For the visitors, Moise Kean is sidelined for this clash with a knee injury while Fabio Miretti is unlikely to recover in time from a foot injury to make the trip to the Italian capital.

Predicted starting lineup

AS Roma predicted starting lineup

Svilar; Angelino, Mancini, Kristensen, N’Dicka; Pellegrini, Bove, Paredes; Lukaku, El Shaarawy, Dybala.

Juventus predicted starting lineup

Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; McKennie, Cambiaso, Locatelli, Rabiot, Weah; Vlahovic, Chiesa.

Prediction

Juventus has always been the dominant side in this fixture over the past years and have lost only one of the last five matches played between these two sides.

They further exerted their dominance in the fixture by recording a 1:0 win in the first leg.

However, tides and fortunes between the two teams have changed in recent months with Juventus suffering a dip in form while Roma are drifting towards a top-four finish despite being in eight position back in January.

De Rossi’s side will gear up to avoid a third successive loss at home and a win over Juventus will further boost their Champions League chances next season.

We’re predicting a 2:1 win for Roma.