Roma have gotten back on track following a back-to-back victories in the league as we are starting to see this team play with much more confidence. Roma come into the game on Sunday afternoon after beating Lecce 4-0 and picking up massive points in a 4-3 wild victory against Cagliari last weekend. Roma seem to have got their mojo back and look to make it three in a row at home against Sampdoria on a Sunday afternoon as Roma return to the Stadio Olimpico. The fans will be a non-factor and the majority of the games through the rest of the season. Due to the Coronavirus all matches will be played behind closed doors until April 3rd. The league did not want to cancel any more games have been canceled a good portion of the matches over the last two weeks. The atmosphere will not play a role in the match. Earlier this season when these two teams played it was a 0-0 goalless draw away in Sampdoria as Claudia Ranieri former Roma manager got his first points against his former Club. Despite the circumstances it should be a very exciting matchup in the capital. Roma will be looking for Revenge and what was a slightly disheartening performance in the first meeting. Will Roma rise to the challenge and pick up three points or do we have another upset on our hands from Sampdoria we will find all that out in more when these two teams go to battle on a Sunday afternoon in Italy’s capital.
A.S Roma 13-6-7 45Pts 5th
Paulo Fonseca in all likelihood will maintain his 4-2-3-1 formation that he has used for the majority of the season. There could be some slight adjustments ahead of the match but based on the performance that we saw last weekend there should only be a few Changes ahead of the match on Sunday. In goal as always we can expect that Pau Lopez will be ready and up for the challenge. Roma only needing a slight adjustment to the back line ahead of the match. At left-back as always we can expect to see Alex Kolarov beside him we should see the return of Roma’s centre-back Partnership of Gianluca Mancini and Chris Smalling. After Mancini was sidelined last weekend because of a suspension. On the opposite side at right-back we should see no change as Bruno Peres has been a revelation since he has returned from Brazil. I would keep the same defensive Midfield with Bryan Cristante alongside Gonzalo Villar who thrived in his first start last weekend. In the central part of the attacking Midfield we can expect to see Henrikh Mkhitaryan as he continues to fill in for the injured Lorenzo Pellegrini. He is in terrific form right now as he looks to keep his run of form going. On the left wing we should see Justin kluivert get another start after scoring a goal in his last two games. Then on the opposite side on the right wing we could see Carles Perez be given his first Roma start in the league. While Cengiz is likely to start if Perez starts the game on the bench. Then up front as the main Striker Roma should go back to Edin Dzeko. Nikola kalinic was Sensational last weekend but Edin Dzeko has proven to be one of them as best players this season and he was rested last week off so he should be primed and ready for the challenge ahead. Roma will also have options off the bench available when they are needed.
Sampdoria 6-5-13 23Pts 17th
Claudio Ranieri can go in several different directions with this lineup. The 4-3-3 could leave them a little bit too exposed and a 4-2-3-1 may not be the best idea given what Roma is capable of doing. The best option at this point in terms of the lineup is 4-3-2-1 formation. It will give Sampdoria the security with three defensive midfielders with the one in the central position pressuring forward and in front of them two attackers who will sit under the striker. From the tactical perspective, this makes the most sense even if Sampdoria loses this game they have to show some sort of improvement or this season is already over. It will be really difficult to win this game for them but whether or not they put in a good performance will largely depend on the lineup. The key player for Sampdoria is Rigoni he’s a younger player who’s capable of scoring goals when given the opportunity I don’t believe in Fabio at this age I just don’t they will have to ride their younger players to get to the Finish Line Fabio is capable of scoring but Sampdoria cannot rely on him which is why they got into this situation in the first place. A lot needs to happen for Sampdoria to win but the results will not be decided on the pitch the results will be decided in the lineup and formation if they get this wrong goodnight Sampdoria.
Bottom Line
After struggling the last two months Roma have finally found their form as they have won three of their last four games. Roma are heating up at exactly the right time. The team still has Ambitions for Champions League football next season and will continue to chase down Atalanta for that fourth position. Otherwise Roma will have to win the Europa League to get into the Champions League which seems to be more likely route to that competition but never say never if Roma continue to play well it may just happen. Certainly from the football point of view Roma should have no difficulty Italy handling a Sampdoria team that is just above the relegation Zone. We had seen this team look really good the last few games. They have looks like a much more complete team that are on the same page. After able to recreate this this should be very simple. Especially because player for player Roma are much more Superior to a Sampdoria team who has limited star power. Against Lecce Roma put together perhaps their best performance of the Season. Then last weekend against Cagliari they dominated the entire match in a back-and-forth battle. The only reason Cagliari was in that game is because they took some chances and scored some great goals. Roma easily could have wiped the floor with them that’s how aggressive they were in that match. Roma should be more or less the same this weekend. They were unlucky with the amount a conviction in front of goal that Cagliari had. Early in that game Roma went for the throat and just pounded them with attack after attack after attack. The approach in this game should be more or less the same because they have the quality within their squad to do that and for the first time this season they’re playing with confidence. Roma looks like they have got out of there skid that they have been in over the last two months. This is more reminiscent to the Roma team we saw before the end of the new year. from the football perspective Sampdoria should not stand a chance in this match but you never want to underestimate a team in a relegation battle. They managed to split points last time and have enough players within the side to get the job done as difficult as it may be. Sampdoria’s at biggest threat to their attack Sampdoria’s at biggest threat to their attack is Fabio and Manuel Gabbiadini. If they are on the same page and can get some link up play there’s a very good chance they can make this difficult on Roma. Sampdoria is managed by Claudio Ranieri a former Roma coach he has the cheat code there are certain things that he may be able to do against them that will give Sampdoria a chance at points this week. This isn’t a cut-and-dry match even though it may look that way on paper. Sampdoria will make things difficult on the Roma but in the end Roma will provide too much for them. This Roma team is playing with a high level of confidence. With everything that take into account Edin Dzeko is back and fully healthy and fresh he will be a nightmare and hard to control. Roma are the better team and they will prove it on Sunday afternoon as Roma will defend their house and pick up all three points as they continue to try to chase down the Juggernaut in Bergamo.
Manager: Paulo Fonseca Record: 279-136-112
Roma’s Projected starting XI 4-2-3-1
GK: Pau Lopez
DEF: Alex Kolarov, Chris Smalling , Federico Fazio, Leo Spinazzola
DEF MID: Gonzolo Villar, Bryan Cristante
ATT MID: Justin Kluivert, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Carles Perez
Striker: Edin Dzeko
Manager: Claudio Raneri Record:487-297-305
Sampdoria’s Projected starting XI 4-3-2-1
GK: Audero
DEF: Colley,Bereszynski,Chabot,Regini
DEF MID: Linetty,Depaoli,Ekdal
ATT MID:Jankto,Murru
Striker: Rigoni, Quagliarella
Players to Watch
Edin Dzeko & Quagliarella
Everything Roma 