Roma’s campaign in Europe might be impressive as they reach semifinal. Yet, their domestic campaign has not been developing as they expected as they are still stranded on the seventh with four points behind their local contender, Lazio. No wonder that a win is an absolute target for the remaining games. Unfortunately, their next opponent is tougher than their last outing, Atalanta which has been solid lately.
The teams’ previous matches
Giallorossi suffered an unlikely defeat last weekend while travelling to Torino. The home side dismantled them 3-1 despite leading at the first half. Borja Mayoral scored an opener but it was equalised by Antonio Sanabria’s header. Then, Simone Zaza tucked away the ball before finally Tomas Rincon sealed Il Torro’s victory.
Meanwhile, Atalanta secured a massive win over Juventus at their home turf. A single goal by the Ukrainian international Ruslan Malinovsky was enough to topple the defending Champions in the standings.
Possible tactic
Paulo Fonseca is still opting for 3-4-2-1 with Borja Mayoral as the frontman instead of Edin Dzeko. He will be supported by Lorenzo Pellegrini and Henrikh Mikhitariyan or Carles Perez. Unfortunately, some figures have to sit out for this fixtures. They are Chris Smalling, Marash Kumbulla, Nico Zaniolo and Lorenzo Spinazzolla due to their injuries whereas Diawara is serving his ban.
Meanhwhile, Gian Gasperini’s preference to the fluid 3-4-3 with the transition to 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-1-2 has finally found its way to grow. La Dea has begun to survive without Papu Gomez and replaced their former skipper with two number ten, Josip Illicic and Matteo Pessina or either one of them. The frontman role is still occupied by Duvan Zapata instead of Luis Muriel. Only two names are on their injury table, Rodrigo Toloi and Hans Hateboer.
Players to watch
With some of the key forwards are above 31 years old, Fonseca now turns to the younger names as the main scorer and vital figures in the starting IX. The Spaniard Borja Mayoral is the current frontman with eight goals and two assists. Another notable name to watch is Roma’s new captain after Dzeko’s fallout with the Portuguese boss, Lorenzo Pellegrini. He has bagged five goals and provided six assists.
La Dea’s top performers so far is the German left back Robin Gosens, who has notched up nine goals and provided five assist, Josip Illicic who has contributed six goals and eight assists plus the versatile Ruslan Malinovsky who scored his fourth goal of the season against Juventus last weekend.
Roma vs Atalanta Prediction
Both sides have their own quest to fulfil here. Atalanta is now aiming to take over the runner up position from Milan, while Roma needs to close the gap for continental competition next season. However, Roma’s inconsistent form lately could cost their failure to salvage a point here. Gasperini’s men have the chance to pick up a narrow win on the road.
Betting odds
The punters have no favourite to bet on here. Lorenzo Pellegrini’s odds to win are at 37/13, whereas Luis Muriel and Co’s win market is at 42/41. The odds for the draw result are at the value of 56/19.
