Preview: Roma vs. Cremonese - prediction, team news, lineups

The teams meet in Wednesday's quarter-final tie at Stadio Olimpico, with the visitors yet to win in Serie A but having knocked out Napoli in the last 16.

Match preview

After winning three of their first four league games this year - and snatched a 2-2 draw with Milan in the other - Roma kicked off Sunday's Derby del Sole against Napoli as one of Calcio's most in-form sides.

It had been steady if not spectacular for Jose Mourinho's men since returning from the winter break - their fourth clean sheet from five outings came in La Spezia a week earlier - but the relentless league leaders proved just too hot to handle for the Giallorossi over 90 absorbing minutes at Stadio Maradona.

Following Victor Osimhen's stunning opener, Roma equalised through substitute Stephan El Shaarawy late in the second half, but conceding again inside the final five minutes consigned them to just a second away defeat in the league this season.

With only one victory over ex-Roma coach Luciano Spalletti from six Serie A meetings between the pair - and none since 2008 - Mourinho will be glad to pit his wits against someone else in the opposition dugout on Wednesday, when his team aim to take another step towards more silverware in his second season at the capital club.

Winners of the Europa Conference League - the Giallorossi's first major trophy for 11 years - last spring, Mourinho's side soon meet Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg in the Europa League's knockout phase and remain in the race for a Champions League place, as they sit just one point below both Milan and Atalanta: occupying sixth spot after 20 games.

Only Juventus have won the Coppa Italia more times than Roma's tally of nine, and having seen off Serie B side Genoa in the previous round, they will fancy their chances of beating success-starved opposition in the quarters and setting up a semi-final with either Fiorentina or Torino.

Defeated by Chris Smalling's 65th-minute goal when the clubs met in Serie A at the start of the season, Cremonese meet Roma again at the end of February, by which time they will hope to have finally put a stop to their winless streak in Italy's top flight.

In their comeback campaign after more than two decades away, the Grigiorossi recently became only the second team since 2004 to go without a win during the first half of a Serie A campaign.

Despite taking the lead against regional rivals Inter last weekend, they once more failed to record a first league victory since promotion, when a Lautaro Martinez brace rendered David Okereke's 11th-minute opener redundant in the final analysis.

Rooted to the bottom of the table, Cremonese are surely set for a fruitless scrap against returning to the second tier, but can at least take solace in their cup run so far: after wins over Ternana (3-2) and Modena (4-2), a shock defeat of an under-strength Napoli in Davide Ballardini's first match in charge sent shockwaves along the Italian peninsula.

Felix Afena-Gyan's late leveller forced Spalletti's side into extra time, and despite Leonardo Sernicola's subsequent expulsion, the Lombardy club ultimately prevailed on penalties to set up this week's tie in the Eternal City.

Repeating such a feat would defy all the odds once again, but Mourinho and co will not take their task lightly and have recently revelled in knockout competition.

Roma Coppa Italia form:

W

Roma form (all competitions):

W

D

W

W

W

L

Cremonese Coppa Italia form:

W

W

D

Cremonese form (all competitions):

L

L

L

D

D

L

Team News

Further reducing his options in either wing-back berth, Jose Mourinho will now be without Leonardo Spinazzola for the next few weeks, due to a thigh flexor injury sustained in Naples.

Rick Karsdorp remains out of favour after a falling-out with the Roma coach, but Zeki Celik at least returns from suspension, meaning Stephan El Shaarawy may not have to fill in out wide.

Set to sign from Leeds United, Spanish centre-back Diego Llorente has agreed a six-month loan move to the Italian capital, but will not be involved on Wednesday; Nicolo Zaniolo joins Karsdorp out in the cold following the forward's failed exit from the Olimpico, and Georginio Wijnaldum is still completing his recovery from a long injury layoff.

Young prospects such as Edoardo Bove and Benjamin Tahirovic should also be handed some game time, with one or two regulars offered a rare rest before the weekend visit of Empoli.

Meanwhile, Cremonese have an almost fully fit squad available, with Charles Pickel now back from a one-match ban. On Saturday, Marco Benassi made his debut deputising for the Swiss midfielder, who scored against Napoli in the last 16, but both could start in Rome.

Daniel Ciofani and David Okereke have been Davide Ballardini's preferred strike partnership, but Cyriel Dessers and another scorer against Napoli, Felix Afena-Gyan, offer alternative options up front.

Two players not involved will be Scottish defender Jack Hendry, who terminates his loan deal in Cremona after making just two league starts, and Luca Zanimacchia - the latter is bound for Parma.

Roma possible starting lineup:

Patricio; Kumbulla, Mancini, Ibanez; Celik, Cristante, Bove, Zalewski; Pellegrini, El Shaarawy; Abraham

Cremonese possible starting lineup:

Carnesecchi; Vasquez, Chiriches, Ferrari; Sernicola, Benassi, Pickel, Meite, Valeri; Okereke, Dessers

We say: Roma 2-0 Cremonese

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