Serie A: Juventus vs. Roma Preview, Odds, Prediction

Juventus and Roma often bring fantastic matches, and we sure hope that the derby of Serie A round 8 would be no different. The Old Lady has a lot of troubles, and is on one of the worst starts in recent history. On the other side, Jose Mourinho and his Roma are doing a solid job and are near the top. The Special One surprised everyone once taking over Il Lupi, and to be honest, we are glad to see him in action again. After all, Jose is one of those characters who give football a certain lively color.

Preview

Juventus (-115) finally caught some pace, not losing in the past six matches, and posting four victories in a row. However, they still aren’t at the expected level. They still lack toughness and consistency, so that we can say that this unit has championship quality.

The game against Roma will be a true test for Allegri and his crew, in terms of both mental and physical power. The last two wins, against Chelsea 1-0 and Torino, 0-1 were an excellent intro for this event, but they won’t be as hard as facing Jose.

Three of four matches Juventus played at Allianz Stadium this year ended with under 2.5 goals. The Old Lady won just two of them.

AS Roma (+300) had six straight wins but slowed down recently, recording losses to Verona and Lazio, both with the same result. Yet, Il Lupi was back on track before the international break, defeating Zorya in the UEFA Conference League, 3-2, and Empoli in Serie A, 2-0.

Jose’s style of play is a bit different than before, and we now see a lot of goals in his matches. Only two of the 11 competitive events Roma played during this campaign were with under 2.5 goals.

Yet, in recent times, we see a significant improvement in the backline. Roma posted three wins in the past four games, and Rui Patricio’s net was intact in all of them.

Latest News

Alvaro Morata is out for the hosts, the same as Weston McKennie. They’ve picked up respective injuries. Meanwhile, Adrien Rabiot has COVID-19.

A big blow for Mourinho is Tammy Abraham’s sprained ankle, which could sideline the strong forward for a week or two. Leonardo Spinazzola is out since the EURO and his Achilles rupture, while Chris Smalling is also unavailable for this event.

Head to Head Games

Juve holds the bragging rights, defeating Roma in the most recent encounter. It was in February this year at Allianz, 2-0. Previously, the game in Rome ended without winners, 2-2.

Prediction

We expect to see a tough game with a cautious approach from both sides. Roma has a big minus with Abraham out, and that will force Mourinho to wait for counter-attacks. On the other side, Juve doesn’t have the firepower as before, especially since Ronaldo jumped to United, and they too play more cautiously. Our pick for this match would be moderate efficiency, meaning two or three goals at max. The odds on this suggestion are +105, which is ok.

Pick: Moderate efficiency, 2 or 3 goals +105

Here is the preview for other Serie A derby: Lazio vs. Inter Milan