Following a two-week hiatus inflicted by the international window, Juventus are now ready to resume their quest for a record 37th Scudetto. In what will be the Bianconeri’s eighth fixture in Serie A, Massimiliano Allegri’s men welcome AS Roma at the Juventus Stadium on Sunday.
A poor start to the campaign that led to Juventus dropping into the relegation zone at one time has now ceased to torment the dreams of Juventini, with the Old Lady winning their last three games in Serie A. As for Roma, the defeats to Hellas Verona and arch-rivals SS Lazio have hampered their fine run under the management of Jose Mourinho, but they are still in a better place than Juventus.
While Juve occupy seventh in the points table with 11 points from seven games, Mourinho’s Roma are fourth with 15 points from the same number of matches. Hence, both teams will be hoping for all three points on Sunday evening.
3 key Roma players Juventus should be wary of this Sunday
Like Juventus, Roma may not be with their first-choice striker. Like Alvaro Morata, Tammy Abraham could miss out after the English forward picked up a knock in England’s 1-1 stalemate against Hungary.
While the former Chelsea striker is a doubt for the game, the Roma left-back Leonardo Spinazzola and centre-half Chris Smalling are definitely unavailable owing to their injury crisis. That said, here are the three players who could cause havoc against the Old Lady on Sunday.
3. Nicolò Zaniolo
Covered by some eye-catching tattoos, there is a special player lying in the body of Nicolò Zaniolo. Touted to be one of the most talented players of his age group, Zaniolo has struggled a lot with his fitness issues over the last two seasons. Under Mourinho, however, a resurgence could be on the cards.
Having started six games so far in the new campaign, Zaniolo is yet to register a goal or an assist to his name in Serie A. Well, it is not that he is without a goal this season, with the Italy international scoring in the second leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League Qualifiers against Trabzonspor.
Zaniolo is taking some time to resettle in the domestic league. But what is more assuring is that he is regularly playing after undergoing two anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgeries at such a tender age.
The proprietor of a deadly left foot, the 22-year-old is seemingly Mourinho’s first-choice option for the right-wing berth. Utilising his silky movements and dancing feet, Zaniolo could do wonders. So far, we have just seen him trying to connect with his teammates and thread small passes. The game against Juventus could provide him with the impetus he is seeking out to regain his confidence.
As per the reports hovering in the air, Nicolò Zaniolo has recovered from the flexor issue that kept him out of Italy’s UEFA Nations League games against Spain and Belgium, meaning he is in contention to start the game against Juventus this weekend.