Third-placed Roma will try to regain their second position in the Serie A table with a victory over European hopefuls Fiorentina on Tuesday at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. Fiorentina won the reverse fixture 1-0 in September thanks to a late goal from Milan Badelj. However, Roma had won five of the six previous league meetings between the two sides before this season. Fiorentina have not won an away match in the league at AS Roma since 2012, but they managed to win there in 2015 both in the Italian Cup and the Europa League.
Roma had a five-game winning streak snapped at the end of January as they lost 3-2 in the Serie A at Sampdoria. They recovered with a 2-1 Coppa Italia win over Cesena last week, but they need to get their league campaign back on track and not let Juventus run away with the title again. Roma have the chance to cut the gap to the top of the table to just four points, but Juventus have a game in hand. Mohamed Salah is not yet available after the Africa Cup of Nations, while Diego Perotti and Alessandro Florenzi are injured.
Fiorentina are still hoping to finish inside the top five and play European football next season, they have not lost a league match since December. Last week they clinched a 2-1 victory at Pescara, moving five points behind fifth-placed Inter but with a game in hand. Federico Bernardeschi and Davide Astori will make their returns from suspension, while Gonzalo Rodriguez remains the only injury concern for head coach Paulo Sousa. Goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu is fit again but Marco Sportiello might keep his place between the sticks.
Probable line-ups:
Roma: Szczesny - Rudiger, Manolas, Fazio - Peres, De Rossi, Strootman, Emerson - Nainggolan, El Shaarawy - Dzeko
Fiorentina: Sportiello - Sanchez, Maio, Astori - Chiesa, Vecino, Badelj, Olivera - Bernardeschi, Valero - Kalinic
My prediction: 1-1 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Roma win - 1.62
Draw - 4.00
Fiorentina win - 5.50
02/13/17, 12:02:18 AM
