Juventus will eye a return to winning ways when José Mourinho brings his Roma side to the Allianz Stadium for a Saturday afternoon Serie A meeting between the two sides. Both teams have shown great defensive resilience in the season’s first two games. But the hosts will be worried about the lack of attacking flair they exhibited in their lifeless 0-0 draw against Sampdoria. On the other hand, Roma won both of their first fixtures by 1-0 margins. With the teams so evenly balanced, what are the top football betting tips experts are thinking about the possible outcome of this tie?
Juventus
Massimiliano Allegri will go down in history as one of the best Serie A managers. He had led Juventus to five successive Scudettos in his first tenure at the club. But after his return to Juventus, Allegri has struggled to recreate the dominance his team had shown over the rest of Serie A in the past.
After a dismal fourth-place finish last season, La Vecchia Signora dropped two valuable points early in the season as they could not find a way past a resolute Sampdoria defence. Roma might present an even sterner test for the Turin outfit, and losing more points will allow Juve’s title rivals to get a healthy early lead.
Paul Pogba could have been a great addition to the Juventus attack that found it hard to create chances against Sampdoria. But, the French playmaker will not be available until mid-September as he nurses a meniscus injury. Returns for Federico Chiesa and Kaio Jorge are not on the horizon. Ángel Di María is also a doubt ahead of the game. If the Argentine misses out, it will further deplete Juvve’s attacking options. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is also in a race against time to get fit for the Roma game.
Roma
Roma attackers had a wasteful night in front of the Stadio Olimpico crowd, but a Chris Smalling header came as a saving grace for the Giallorossi. The 1-0 win over Cremonese put Roma in a comfortable position before their trip to Juventus.
Roma will face their first true test of the season as they travel to the Allianz Stadium to take on a Juventus side that is yet to find its rhythm under Allegri. But, like their Saturday hosts Juventus, Roma will also be wary of their attacking display that saw them score only twice against arguably the two weakest defences in the league.
Paulo Dybala had scored when the last time these two teams had met. However, he was a Juventus player back then and will be facing his old team for the first time since moving to Rome this summer. Nicolò Zaniolo looks at a month of layoff after dislocating his shoulder last week. Stephan El Shaarawy is in line to replace him in the Roma attack.
Our Prediction
José Mourinho usually stays cautious in big away matches and this leads us to believe we will see a conservative Roma setup at Allianz Arena. Juventus might fail to pick the lock of the opposition defence once again. So, we think a 0-0 draw is the likeliest result.
Our Tip
Draw @ 3.36
