Roma continue their pursuit of Champions League football as they travel to Stadio Ennio Tardini to face Parma on Sunday. Gian Piero Gasperini’s charges cannot afford a mistake in Emilia-Romagna if they’re to stay relevant in a fierce Serie A top-four race.
Despite a 2-0 loss at newly crowned champions Inter last weekend, Parma continue to jostle for a mid-table finish, having staved off relegation fears long ago. While a place in the upper half of the table looks far-fetched, given a seven-point deficit to 10th-placed Bologna, the Crusaders could finish as high as 11th for the first time since the 2019/20 season.
However, the impending home return may not necessarily bode well for Parma, as they’ve gone winless in three of their last four league outings at the Ennio Tardini (W1, D2, L1). Yet, a 1-1 draw against runners-up Napoli was part of that sequence, suggesting they could hinder Roma’s bid to whittle down a three-point gap to fourth-placed Milan.
With Juventus eking out a 1-0 win at Lecce yesterday, Gasperini’s men are under pressure to maintain their late-season resurgence. Three wins from their last four Serie A matches (D1), including a 4-0 mauling of Fiorentina on Monday, make for promising reading as the Giallorossi seek their second consecutive league double over Parma.
Parma
A 2-1 defeat in October’s reverse fixture at the Stadio Olimpico extended Parma’s losing streak against Roma to three matches, putting them at risk of losing four in a row for the first time since 2014. However, the Crusaders have won two of their last three home meetings with the Giallorossi at home (L1), as many victories as they had in their 12 previous such clashes (D1, L9).
Head coach Carlos Cuesta has overseen little success against the division’s top teams this season, with Parma going winless in all nine home matches against sides starting the round above them in the table (D4, L5). Still, he can take confidence from the fact that each of those four draws came against clubs sitting in the top seven alongside Roma.
A lack of first-half goals could be an issue for Parma, as they’ve netted a league-low ten goals before halftime heading into this round. Despite their notoriously slow starts, the Crusaders have found themselves trailing at the break in just nine of their 35 league games this term (HT: W5, D21, L9).
Roma
Poised to take advantage of Parma’s sluggish openings, Roma will hope to find an early deadlock-breaker, knowing they’ve dropped seven of a possible 66 points when drawing first blood (W19, D2, L1). Additionally, Gasperini’s men seem to have finally found their scoring boots, getting on the scoresheet in 12 successive Serie A matches.
Nevertheless, they would be wise not to take anything for granted amid a disappointing run away from home. Indeed, they have lost four of their last six Serie A games on the road (W1, D1), suffering as many defeats in that sequence as in their 11 away league matches of the season (W7, L4). It’s also worth noting that they had conceded at least twice in three consecutive such fixtures before beating Bologna 2-0 last time out.
On a more positive note, Roma have been relentless against ‘lesser’ opponents this season, racking up an eye-catching 19 wins from 23 top-flight clashes against sides currently outside of the top seven (L4). However, the Giallorossi have only scored once on their last three Serie A visits to the Ennio Tardini, highlighting the size of the task awaiting Gasperini’s charges on Sunday.
In addition to long-term absentees Benjamin Cremaschi and Matija Frigan, Parma will also be without standout playmaker Adrian Bernabe, who picked up a muscle injury in midweek. Quicksilver forward Gaetano Oristanio is also on the sidelines with a knee problem.
On the other hand, Roma cannot call upon the likes of Lorenzo Pellegrini, Evan Ferguson, Artem Dovbyk, and Bryan Zaragoza. However, Paulo Dybala and Manu Kone are back from injury, with the former expected to start on the bench. Instead, Matias Soule and Niccolo Pisilli are likely to feature behind star striker Donyell Malen.
Parma (3-5-2): Suzuki; Circati, Troilo, Ndiaye; Delprato, Keita, Nicolussi Caviglia, Bernabe, Valeri; Strefezza, Pellegrino.
Roma (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Celik, Cristante, Kone, Wesley; Soule, Pisilli; Malen.
Parma’s stubborn backline could frustrate Gasperini’s star-studded attack here, but Roma should find a way to put three points on the board and maintain pressure on Milan. A narrow victory for the visitors could be on the cards.
Prediction: Roma to Win
