Romavs.Juventus

Both sides are intent on claiming a place in next season's Champions League, but neither has secured their spot just yet.

Match preview

For the second season running, Roma are taking on Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League semi-finals, and the two clubs reconvened in the Italian capital for Thursday's first leg.

The new German champions were seeking revenge for losing last year, and they not only continued their record-breaking unbeaten streak at Roma's expense but also took a giant stride towards meeting either Marseille or Atalanta BC in the final.

Conceding once in each half consigned Daniele De Rossi's side to just a fourth defeat since the former midfield general returned to Rome as interim head coach in January, leaving them with a mountain to climb in next week's second leg.

De Rossi recently signed a longer contract, but while lifting silverware has now become less likely, he will want to lead his side to an all-important top-five finish in Serie A, thereby claiming Champions League football for next season.

Roma sit fifth in the standings, just ahead of Atalanta, but following a 2-2 draw in last week's Derby del Sole against Napoli, they are still some way from securing a seat at Europe's top table.

A late Tammy Abraham equaliser was required to salvage one point in Naples, but the capital club certainly do not know when they are beaten; they have scored more goals (20) than any other Serie A side during the last 15 minutes of play this season.

However, De Rossi is yet to end a longstanding trend and would dearly love to do so on Sunday evening: in games between Italy's top five this term, Roma have not picked up a single point, losing seven from seven so far.

Following a 1-0 victory in December's reverse fixture, Juventus have won four of their last six Serie A matches against Roma - keeping a clean sheet in half - so they will have a psychological advantage heading into the clubs' latest encounter.

The Bianconeri are now only six points above their hosts in the table, though, as a once-promising campaign has slid into stagnant mediocrity over the past few months.

Having drawn each of their last three matches - versus Torino, Cagliari and, most recently, AC Milan - Max Allegri's men are now glancing nervously over their shoulders at the teams below them.

Juventus have averaged just 1.27 points in the second half of this season - their worst such rate since 2010 - and Allegri's future has naturally been called into question.

The only ray of light on the landscape is an upcoming return to Rome for the Coppa Italia final, which Juve recently reached by way of a 3-2 aggregate win over Lazio - for the second time in four years, they will meet Atalanta at Stadio Olimpico.

Despite a dismal run of two wins from 13 in the league, the Bianconeri also remain on track to secure a spot in next term's new-look Champions League, and Allegri will claim that represents success for a club undergoing a painful period of transition.

Roma Serie A form:

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Roma form (all competitions):

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Juventus Serie A form:

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Juventus form (all competitions):

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Team News

In addition to having Zeki Celik back from a UEFA suspension, Diego Llorente and Leandro Paredes are both available to Daniele De Rossi after serving bans in Roma's draw with Napoli last weekend.

Rasmus Kristensen and Juventus loanee Dean Huijsen return, too, as they were not registered to play in the Europa League knockout stages, so the home side have plenty of scope to rotate ahead of next week's trip to Leverkusen.

One candidate for a rest is injury-prone forward Paulo Dybala, who played seven seasons for Juve from 2015 to 2022, making 293 appearances and scoring 115 goals across all competitions; he has been directly involved in 40 goals from only 50 league games since leaving Turin.

Dybala and Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic have played a part in the most Serie A strikes this calendar year, with both players being involved in 12 goals since the start of 2024; Vlahovic should partner Federico Chiesa or Kenan Yildiz up front on Sunday.

The Bianconeri's only injury absentee will be Alex Sandro, who is sidelined by a calf problem, so Max Allegri is set to name a similar XI to that which held Milan goalless last time out.

Chiesa could replace Yildiz, and Weston McKennie may come in for his fellow American Timothy Weah, but no further changes are expected.

Roma possible starting lineup:

Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Dybala, Lukaku, El Shaarawy

Juventus possible starting lineup:

Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; Cambiaso, McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Chiesa, Vlahovic

We say: Roma 1-1 Juventus

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