Roma host Spezia in the Italian Serie A on Sunday night and they will be looking to end the season on a high with a victory at home.
They were beaten by Sevilla in the final of the UEFA Europa League a few days ago and Jose Mourinho’s men will look to bounce back strongly.
Roma are currently 6th in the league table and they cannot afford to drop points here if they want to secure Europa League qualification for the next season. Juventus are breathing down their necks in 7th place and they could easily overtake the capital club with a win if Roma drops points here.
Meanwhile, Spezia are level on points with 18th-placed Verona and they need to win here in order to ensure their survival in the top flight. Both teams have a lot to play for and this is likely to be a cracking encounter.
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Team news and tactics
Roma
The home side will be without the services of Rick Karsdorp and Marash Kumbulla because of injuries.
They are likely to shape up in a 3-4-1-2 formation with Mile Svilar in goal. In the back three, Roger Ibanez will start alongside Chris Smalling and Diego Llorente.
Nicola Zalewski and Stephan El Shaarawy are likely to be deployed as the wing-backs and they will look to help out defensively as well as offensively.
In the middle of the park, Mady Camara is likely to start alongside Edoardo Bove.
Jose Mourinho is likely to shuffle his pack after an intense final against Sevilla. Lorenzo Pellegrini is expected to start as the central attacking midfielder and he will be expected to help the team create goal-scoring opportunities and get on the score sheet.
Paulo Dybala is likely to start as well in the attack alongside Andrea Belotti.
Probable Lineup (3-4-1-2): Svilar; Ibanez, Smalling, Llorente; Zalewski, Camara, Bove, Shaarawy; Pellegrini; Dybala, Belotti
Spezia
The visitors have a number of injury problems here and they will be without Emil Holm, Joao Moutinho, Petar Zovko, Julius Beck, Jacopo Sala and Mattia Caldara.
Spezia will shape up in a 3-5-2 formation with Bartolomiej Dragowski in goal.
Przemyslaw Wisniewski will start in the back three alongside Ethan Ampadu and Dimitrios Nikolaou.
Kelvin Amian and Arcadiusz Rece will be deployed as the wing-backs. In the middle of the park, Mehdi Bourabia will start alongside Salvatore Esposito and Albin Ekdal.
In the attack, Mbala Nzola will start alongside Emmanuel Gyasi.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Dragowski; Wisniewski, Ampadu, Nikolaou; Amian, Bourabia, Esposito, Ekdal, Reca; Nzola, Gyasi
Key Stats
- Roma have kept a clean sheet in their last 3 matches against Spezia in all competitions.
- Roma have won their last 3 matches against Spezia in all competitions.
- Roma are unbeaten in five of the last six matches against Spezia.
- 19 goals have been scored in the last six matches between these two sides.
- Roma are winless in the last six matches in the league.
Player to watch out for
Paulo Dybala
The Argentine international has been in splendid form this season scoring 17 goals and picking up 7 assists across all competitions.
The 29-year-old will be looking to guide his side to European football next season and he will look to make his mark in the final third. Dybala has scored 4 goals in his last 8 appearances for Roma and he will look to get on the scoresheet once again.
Prediction
Roma 2-1 Spezia
The visitors will look to make life difficult for Roma here, especially with survival at stake.
This is not going to be an easy outing for the home side especially with a heavily changed side.
However, Roma have the quality to edge this one and the Hard Tackle predicts a narrow 2-1 victory at home.