Next Saturday, 6th of December 2014, a highly motivated AS Roma will measure forces with the surprising Sassuolo at Stadio Olimpico for round 14 of the Italian Serie A, on a match that the home side needs to win in order to keep close to Juventus at the top of the table but that will certainly be a close clash, given the visitors’ recent good form.

After a disappointing last minute draw under the Moscow frost last week against CSKA for the UEFA Champions League, AS Roma rallied their troops and cliched a stunning win over Inter Milan at the Italian capital city last weekend. Pjanic and Gervinho completely ripped apart Roberto Mancini’s new Inter, as they put up a vintage performance last Sunday’s night. The match was absolutely thrilling, with excellent moments of football, as for example José Holebas’ outstanding goal just after the break; nevertheless and in the end, the hosts have truly deserved their win.

The Lupi are currently on the second place of the table three points behind the league leaders, Juventus, and eight points ahead Napoli, who occupy the third place at the moment. Their manager, Rudi Garcia, maintained the team’s backbone from last season and, with just a few minor tactical adjustments, he has been maintaining the team among the big dogs of Italian football.

Next weekend’s clash against Sassuolo will certainly not be an easy one, but AS Roma cannot allow any more slipups; otherwise, they will be placing the red carpet for Juventus to walk in and revalidate their title very early in the season.

For that particular clash, Rudi Garcia is not certain if he will be able to rely on the contribution of Torosidis, Balzaretti and Yanga-Mbiwa, who are not yet fully recovered from their injuries.

As for Sassuolo, the Neroverdi are having a very positive stint at Serie A so far this season and are currently on the tenth place of table, with 18 points from 13 matches. Their manager, Eusebio Di Francesco, has been doing a great job with the team so far and he is probably the hero of the day at the Emilia-Romagna city. Di Francesco was sacked back in January but he was re-appointed two months later and he even managed to save the team an almost certain relegation process. Last weekend, Sassuolo defeated Verona at home and they are currently on an excellent seven match streak without a single defeat.

Despite the visitors’ excellent moment, they probably don’t stand a chance against the hosts at Stadio Olimpico next weekend, as AS Roma tend to be particularly strong and effective when playing at home.

Roma

Stats: W-3 L-1 D-1

Recent Form - WDWWL

Sassuolo

Stats: W-3 L-0 D-2

Recent Form - WWWDD

Possible Line-ups

Roma (4-3-3) - De Sanctis - Maicon - Torosidis - Astori - Holebas - Keita - Pjanic - Nainggolan - Gervinho - Totti - Ljajic

Sassuolo (4-3-3) - Consigli - Vrsaljko - Cannavaro - Acervi - Peluso - Magnanelli - Missiroli - Taider - Sansone - Floccari - Berardi

Prediction

Roma 2 Sassuolo 0