Parmavs.Roma

After the Giallorossi let victory slip from their grasp against Porto, they must now try to stay in touch with Italy's top eight.

Match preview

Last week's 1-0 win over Venezia continued Roma's revival under interim boss Claudio Ranieri - extending their unbeaten streak in the league to eight games - but it required a second-half spot kick to decide matters in their favour.

The capital club have scored the most penalties in Serie A this season - seven from seven so far - after Paulo Dybala coolly converted from 12 yards for the 15th time in a row.

However, the mercurial attacker was then injured during the first leg of Roma's midweek Europa League playoff, which ended in a 1-1 away draw against Porto.

A fractious contest dominated by a series of yellow cards saw Zeki Celik open the scoring at Estadio do Dragao, but shortly after the Giallorossi conceded an equaliser, Bryan Cristante was sent off.

As a result, an enticing last-16 tie with either Athletic Bilbao or Roma's arch-rivals Lazio remains up for grabs ahead of next week's second leg.

Though they came up short on Thursday, Ranieri's men recently ended a dismal 13-game wait for an away win in Serie A - winning both of their last two - and will seek a third straight success on Sunday evening.

Dybala struck twice when they thumped one of Ranieri's old clubs 5-0 in December, and now they reconvene with Parma in Emilia-Romagna.

While they may have lost more top-flight games against Roma - 34 of 55 - than against any other club, Parma have actually won both of the teams' last two league meetings at Stadio Tardini.

Yet, they will kick off this contest with promotion-winning coach Fabio Pecchia under severe pressure after overseeing four defeats from six this calendar year.

The Gialloblu have just gone three on the spin without picking up any points at all, so they could now lose four consecutive league matches for the first time since returning to Italy's top tier as Serie B champions.

Last week, Giovanni Leoni became the youngest Parma defender ever to score in Serie A, aged just 18 years and 50 days, but that was not enough to salvage anything from a crucial clash with relegation rivals Cagliari.

Exhibiting their continued failures up front, the Emilian side's last three goals have been scored by defenders - only one of the last 10 has been bagged by a forward.

All of which leaves Parma stuck inside the Serie A drop zone, as one of at least eight teams still threatened by demotion.

Parma Serie A form:

D

L

D

L

L

L

Roma Serie A form:

W

D

W

W

D

W

Roma form (all competitions):

W

W

D

L

W

D

Team News

Roma talisman Paulo Dybala has allayed fears of a longer layoff after being forced out of Thursday's Europa League game by a knee injury, but he could be sidelined this weekend.

Sent off in midweek, Bryan Cristante will not only miss out on meeting Porto again but must also watch Sunday's match from the stands due to a pre-existing suspension.

Leandro Paredes should start instead, while Mats Hummels may return in defence after Claudio Ranieri claimed the veteran defender needed a rest. Dybala aside, January signing Devyne Rensch is the visitors' only other doubt, with a thigh problem.

Though Parma brought in several fresh faces during the winter transfer window, they still have a substantial absence list to deal with.

Defensive trio Yordan Osorio, Lautaro Valenti and Alessandro Circati join Mateusz Kowalski and Gabriel Charpentier on the treatment table, while winger Valentin Mihaila is a major doubt.

Experienced striker Milan Djuric - a recent arrival from Monza - has also been ruled out for the rest of the month, meaning Ange-Yoan Bonny should start up front.

Parma possible starting lineup:

Suzuki; Del Prato, Vogliacco, Leoni, Valeri; Hernani, Bernabe; Man, Sohm, Cancellieri; Bonny

Roma possible starting lineup:

Svilar; Mancini, Hummels, Angelino; Saelemaekers, Kone, Paredes, El Shaarawy; Soule, Pellegrini; Dovbyk

We say: Parma 1-1 Roma

There has been only one draw between these sides across their last 15 Serie A meetings, but another could be on the cards this weekend.

Written by

Jonathan O'Shea

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