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

Juventus and Roma clash on Saturday night at Allianz Stadium in Turin. This is the derby of the Serie A third round, because two national powerhouses clash, and what gives more tension to this upcoming clash is Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese manager loves these games, and he always increases the pressure before them. We saw the Special One winning the UEFA Conference League last season, which immediately increased the expectations for this campaign. Also, there is one more thing that is interesting, and that’s Paulo Dybala’s comeback to Turin after leaving Juve this summer.

Apart from this one, we have a preview for Lazio vs. Inter Milan game.

Preview

Juventus (+125) aims to attack the title this season, yet after their performance against Sampdoria on the road, that won’t be easy. Juve looked pale and disorganized in the attack, without any creativity or possibility to force the rivals into a mistake.

After a solid display in the opener against Sassuolo and a 3-0 victory, the Old Lady disappointed their fans in Genoa. We are aware that several of their superstars aren’t available, like Chiesa or Pogba, but still, beating Sampdoria should have happened even without them.

Massimiliano Allegri is experiencing heat from the media right away, with only two rounds into the campaign, which will put pressure in the next few weeks. Juventus is still active on the market, trying to land a few additions that might help them gain consistency, and we shall see if they have any success in that intention.

Roma (+220) has six points after two opening rounds and two scored goals. After beating Salareintana on the road, 0-1, Mourinho’s crew was better than Cremonese in front of more than 63,000 spectators at Olimpico. The result was the same, 1-0, yet in this clash, Roma pushed hard and created numerous chances.

Tammy Abraham missed a couple of fantastic chances, and the English striker needs to regain his focus and confidence. Once he does that, Il Lupi will be much more comfortable on the field.

Opposite to the offense, the defense has been at the highest possible level. They were rock-solid in the first two Serie A games, and also, Roma kept clean sheets against Shakhtar and Tottenham in the last two preseason events.

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Chiesa, Ake, Kaio Jorge, Peeters, Szczesny, Pogba and Di Maria are all out for this event. There were some talks that Di Maria could appear on Saturday afternoon, but that won’t happen.

Roma will play without Zaniolo, Wijnaldum, Providence, Darboe.

Head to Head Games

Juventus was better in both games played last year. The Old Lady won 1-0 at home and, after that, beat Roma 3-4 on the road at Olimpico. When playing at home, Juventus is dominant against Roma, winning nine of the last 10 meetings in Turin.

Prediction

Mourinho is coming to Turin to slow down the pace and the intensity of the game, and to numb Juve’s forwards, who aren’t consistent. The Old Lady had trouble in the preseason against the top European teams, especially when trying to control the rhythm. We are going to go with under 2.5 goals, with the current odds on that set at -110.

Pick: Under 2.5 goals -110