Juventus v Roma
Saturday 22nd December 1930hrs
Football – Italy – Serie A
Pick: Juventus to win to nil
Bookmaker: Unibet
Odds: 16/13 (odds taken 22.20 GMT, Thursday 20 December)
When the Serie A fixtures came out at the beginning of the season, there would have been plenty looking at this match – three days before Christmas – to have a massive bearing on the title race. In reality the title race is going to be a procession for Juve and Roma are looking less and less likely that they’ll even make the top four this season. As a standalone game, however, it’s still one of the best Italy produces so continue reading for a match preview as Juventus host Roma with a selected best betting tip.
There are three games left in Serie A before the winter break and Juventus are unbeaten after 16 – dropping points in just one game all season. It’s absolutely remarkable for a team who have dominated Italian football for the past seven seasons that they are still able to be so much better than the rest of their opponents week in, week out – and their opponents are growing stronger as well. Last weekend’s derby win over Torino was their fifth straight win in the league without conceding a goal and that’s a run which has seen them face both Milan teams as well as visiting Fiorentina. The signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer has undoubtedly given the club another boost and they look absolutely formidable at the moment. The Portuguese forward is one behind in the goalscoring charts (surprisingly) but his overall play has been of such a high standard and it is noticeable how much his teammates are improving as a consequence. It looks a nigh on certainty that the Old Lady of Turin will be celebrating their eighth successive Scudetto come the end of the campaign and you wouldn’t bet against them doing it unbeaten.
Roma Preview
Having reached the semi-final stage of the Champions League last season and finishing third in Serie A, even bigger things were expected of Roma and Eusebio Di Francesco. A former midfielder at the club, Di Francesco was in his maiden season as head coach of Roma and surpassed all reasonable expectations, but it’s been a struggle for them so far in this campaign – at least domestically. Roma qualified for the knockout phases of the Champions League last week and will have a tie against Porto to look forward to in the new year, but they are languishing in seventh in the league just now, a full 22 points behind Juve. It was always going to be hugely difficult for Roma top challenge for the title but the gap between themselves and the league leaders is simply unacceptable. Whilst Juventus’ relentless form continues, Roma have been stuttering. Last weekend’s win over Genoa was just their second in seven games and they have fallen behind the others in the race of the Champions League positions, something which would have been a minimum for them at the outset. They have a couple of winnable looking games to close out the year after their trip to the champions, but they cannot afford to write off any game at the moment.
Juventus v Roma Betting Advice
What this first part of the season has showing us in Serie A is the difference between these two teams in terms of the stage they are at. Juventus are a champion team full of experienced players who have been the distance, know what it takes to win and have a constant desire to win trophies. Roma, on the other hand, are a team who have a smattering of experience but are attempting to build a team to compete regularly and their young players are showing all the inconsistencies associated with…well young players. There’s few bigger stages than Juventus away for Roma so it will be another major test of their emerging squad.
Genoa are the only team to have taken points off Juventus this season when securing a very surprising 1-1 draw back in October. It looks a major ask for Roma to become the second in their current form and also because how Juventus have been playing of late. Other than a blip away to Young Boys in the Champions League, they have been excellent both in defence and attack and I’m confident they can continue that form on Saturday, beating Roma and doing so without conceding a goal. Incidentally, Juve’s last three home games against Roma have ended 1-0.
