Roma and Atalanta are separated by a solitary point in the Serie A table as they prepare to do battle at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening.
With 18 matches in the books, seventh-placed Roma trail sixth-placed Atalanta, although both sides remain within touching distance of the top four.
Dybala ➡️ Azmoun ➡️ Lukaku ➡️ ⚽️#ASRoma pic.twitter.com/4xQUpasNPm— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) January 4, 2024
Dybala ➡️ Azmoun ➡️ Lukaku ➡️ ⚽️#ASRoma pic.twitter.com/4xQUpasNPm
Can Jose Mourinho’s men leapfrog Atalanta this weekend? Or will La Dea extend the gap between the two clubs? It’s time to take a closer look at the teams.
Let’s start with the hosts, Roma, who came from behind to defeat Cremonese 2-1 in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday.
Trailing the second-tier outfit with 15 minutes remaining, Roma turned things around thanks to late goals from Romelu Lukaku and Paulo Dybala.
Still, there is no hiding the fact that Mourinho’s men have struggled for consistency in Serie A of late, winning just one of their previous four matches.
That said, Roma boast a hugely impressive record on home soil, having won six of their last seven league games at the Stadio Olimpico.
Atalanta also booked their place in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals in midweek, claiming a comfortable 3-1 victory over Sassuolo.
La Dea have now won five of their previous six matches across all competitions, enjoying success in Serie A and the Europa League along the way.
In the league, Atalanta have won three of their last four outings, claiming victories over AC Milan, Salernitana and Lecce while scoring eight goals.
It is worth noting, however, that La Dea have struggled away from home this term, recording three wins, one draw and five losses on their travels in the league.
Head-to-head: Roma have managed to win just two of their last 11 Serie A encounters with Atalanta, although those victories came in 2021 and 2022.
However, Roma have only lost one of their previous five home games against La Dea, picking up one win and three draws in the process.
Team news: Roma are still without injured duo Tammy Abraham and Marash Kumbulla, while Chris Smalling remains a doubt.
On the flip side, Atalanta’s injury list features Hans Hateboer, El Bilal Toure and Lukas Vorlicky, while Rafael Toloi is a doubt for Sunday.
Although Atalanta are enjoying an impressive run of form at the moment, it is extremely difficult to ignore Roma’s record at the Stadio Olimpico.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Roma will get the better of Atalanta, scoring over 1.5 goals while keeping a clean sheet.