Two giants of Italian football – Juventus and Roma – are set for a mouth-watering contest in Turin on Sunday and promises to be full of action with both teams keen for Serie A title.
Juventus, who have won their last seven games on a trot in all competitions, will be eager to register their eighth straight win. Roma, on the other hand, have not been much impressive of late as they drew their last three fixtures in the Series A. Roma lie on 5th place in the Serie A standings.
Juventus' coach, Massimiliano Allegri, believes Roma will prove to be huge test as the La Maggica are still in contention for the title.
"Roma are still in the title race. They have a squad full of quality players, a new coach and I'm sure that will bring about a response as it usually does. Then of course it's Juventus against Roma and that's always a difficult game for us," Juventus official website quoted Allegri as saying.
The Bianconeri have some huge games coming up as they face Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia semifinal during the week as well. Juventus, who are in still in contention for a treble this season, have a huge Champions League match against Bayern Munich too.
Despite a tough run of fixtures, Allegri wants his players to focus on their present game against Roma.
"We have a hectic run of games to negotiate and to try and win. For now we're focusing on Roma and we'll put out the best team possible, as we did against Lazio," said Allegri.
"We have to be smart enough not to think about what we've done in the last few months but what we need to do between now and the end of the season. That's all that matters because we still have three targets to aim for."
Roma, who drew their last game against Verona, need to come up with an improved performance if they are to defeat Juventus. Luciano Spalletti, Roma's manager, wants his players to come up with a professional display against Juventus.
"I can see the lads are open-minded and determined to bounce back. Against Verona we needed to respond mentally – we did that but luck wasn't on our side," Roma official website quoted Spalletti as saying.
"Now we have to think more long-term, regarding both our targets and our working methods. This next phase will be harder than the first because the lads have to show how professional they are and shoulder the responsibility of playing for a club which carries the name of a city – Rome."
Roma, who finished runners up to Juventus in the Serie A for the last two seasons, will be keen to defeat Juventus and climb up the table. If Roma emerge victorious, it can act as a huge confidence booster and help them positively challenge for the title, though they might be nine points away from the top at present.
Where to watch live
Juventus vs Roma Serie A game has been scheduled for 8:45pm local time (1:15am IST, 7:45GMT 3:45pm ET) starts with live TV coverage in India on Sony Six with live streaming on Sony Liv.
Viewers in the UK can watch Juventus vs Roma Serie A game live on BT Sport Europe, while US viewers have the luxury of watching the Juventus vs Roma Serie A game on beIN Sports USA with live streaming on beIN Sports connect.
Viewers in Italy can watch Juventus vs Roma Serie A game on Sky Sport1/HD Italia.
