Juventus will be looking to make it back-to-back victories at the start of their 2020-21 Serie A campaign when they travel to the Italian capital to face Roma on Sunday night.
The Old Lady started their title defence with a comfortable 3-0 success at home to Sampdoria last weekend, but Roma were on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline away to Hellas Verona.
Match preview
© Reuters
Roma did not finish outside of the top three in Serie A between 2013 and 2018, but they have now claimed sixth and fifth in their last two seasons and will be determined to push closer to the top four this term.
Paulo Fonseca's side made a disappointing start to their 2020-21 Serie A campaign last weekend, though, suffering a 3-0 defeat at Verona.
Edin Dzeko was left on the bench against Verona due to the speculation surrounding his future, but a proposed move to Juve has seemingly fallen through, and the 34-year-old should be in the side on Sunday.
Former Chelsea and Barcelona attacker Pedro made his debut last weekend, meanwhile, and the club's supporters will be hoping that the Spaniard can enjoy a productive campaign.
I Giallorossi will be desperate to bounce back at home to Juve, and they actually recorded a 3-1 victory over the champions when they made the trip to Turin on the final weekend of last season.
© Reuters
Juve, as mentioned, began their title defence with a comfortable three-goal success over Sampdoria at the Allianz Stadium. Dejan Kulusevski opened the scoring on his debut before Leonardo Bonucci and Cristiano Ronaldo registered in the latter stages to make it a winning start for Andrea Pirlo.
The Old Lady won a ninth straight title last season but only finished a point clear of second-place Inter Milan, while Lazio in fourth were only five points off the top of the table.
The Turin giants also were surprisingly dumped out of the Champions League by Lyon in the last-16 stage of the competition, meaning that Pirlo has plenty to work on in the coming season.
Deals for Arthur and Weston McKennie have boosted the team's midfield, while Alvaro Morata has returned to the club on a one-year loan deal, and it will be fascinating to see how the Spaniard performs this season.
Juve have actually lost two of their last three Serie A games against Roma, but they recorded a 2-1 victory when they travelled to the capital for the corresponding match last season.
Roma Serie A form: L
Juventus Serie A form: W
Team News
© Reuters
Roma will be without Nicolo Zaniolo for the majority of this season as the 21-year-old has suffered another serious knee injury which forced him to undergo surgery earlier this month.
Diego Perotti is also a doubt with a thigh strain, but the team did not pick up any fresh issues against Verona.
As mentioned, Dzeko should return at the tip of the attack, while there is likely to be a debut at the heart of the defence for Marash Kumbulla.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pedro should also keep their forward positions, with Lorenzo Pellegrini potentially dropping back into a midfield area, meaning that Amadou Diawara is at risk of being left out.
Juve are still without the services of Matthijs de Ligt following shoulder surgery, while a thigh strain is again expected to rule Federico Bernardeschi out of the contention.
Alex Sandro is also out due to a muscular problem that he picked up in training, but Paulo Dybala should be available for the Old Lady after working his way back from a thigh injury.
Pirlo is expected to keep faith with the side that started against Sampdoria, though, meaning that McKennie should again get the nod alongside Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey in midfield.
Kulusevski should keep his spot alongside Ronaldo in the final third of the field, while Gianluca Frabotta is expected to retain his position as the left-sided wing-back, having impressed on the opening weekend.
Roma possible starting lineup:
Mirante; Mancini, Ibanez, Kumbulla; Karsdorp, Veretout, Pellegrini, Spinazzola; Mkhitaryan, Pedro; Dzeko
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, Chiellini; Cuadrado, McKennie, Rabiot, Frabotta; Ramsey; Kulusevski, Ronaldo
We say: Roma 1-2 Juventus
Roma will be determined to bounce back from their disappointing start to the season, but it is difficult to look past Juve on this occasion. Kulusevski was excellent on his debut against Sampdoria, and we fancy the 20-year-old to play another leading role in a narrow success for the reigning champions.
