Competition: Italian Serie A 2016-17
Date: Sunday, 12th March, 19:45 GMT
Stadium: Stadio Renzo Barbera.
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Palermo vs Roma Preview and Prediction
The wheels risk falling off the Roma season after three consecutive defeats in all competition and they visit relegation-threatened Palermo.
Roma’s long-standing winning streak at the Stadio Olimpico, which saw them set a new club record with 15 consecutive wins, came to a screeching halt last weekend. Not only did Napoli score at the Lupi’s home ground for the first time since 2013, but they also managed to win there for the first time since 2011. That result has now seen the Partenopei close the gap on second to just two points.
Luciano Spalletti’s men come into this game after a disastrous run of form, losing 2-0 to Lazio in the Coppa Italia semi-final and 4-2 in the Europa League Round of 16 against Olympique Lyonnais after leading 2-1.
Kostas Manolas is suspended, so Juan Jesus steps in and Antonio Rudiger returns after missing the Lyon trip.
Meanwhile, Palermo continue to flounder in the bottom three. The Rosanero are a whopping seven points away from safety. Diego Lopez’s side thought they had gotten a reprieve against Torino after scoring first, but a hat-trick from the brilliantly in-form Andrea Belotti turned this tie on its head.
Oddly enough, Palermo are one of those teams who have actually fared better on their travels than on home turf – but only just slightly. It took them until Week 23 to finally win a home game, and that was against debutants (and fellow relegation candidates) Crotone.
They have lost 10 so far at the Stadio Barbera, scoring just seven and conceding 23. It goes without saying that they will be expected to ship a few more on Sunday, as they have managed just two clean sheets so far in Serie A this term (against Crotone and against Atalanta).
For Palermo, the one bright shining light has been Ilija Nestorovski. With 10 goals and three assists, he has been directly involved in over 50 per cent of his team’s 23 goals thus far, meaning that when they do score (usually a consolation effort), it’s thanks to the Macedonia international. Unfortunately, his efforts have been largely in vain, as barring a miracle of sorts, his team look already set to be plying their trade in Serie B for the 2017-2018 term.
Andrea Rispoli – who scored last week at Torino – and Norbert Balogh sit out bans.
Keep an eye on: Edin Dzeko (Roma) – The Bosnian ace has been having his best season since his Wolfsburg days, where he scored 36 goals across all competitions during the 2008-2009 season. However, he is without a goal since February 19, firing blanks in the last four competitive appearances.
Form Guide: Palermo (L D L L W) Roma (L W W W W)
Last season: Palermo 2-4 Roma
Stat fact: Palermo have not beaten Roma at home since March 2013, managing a raw and a defeat. The last seven meetings between these sides, home and away, provided a total 28 goals.
Top tip: Roma have been winning at both half time and full time in their last three matches against Palermo in all competition.
Palermo (probable): Posavec; Morganella, Goldaniga, Andelkovic, Aleesami; Gazzi, Chochev; Sallai, Henrique, Trajkovski; Nestorovski
Suspended: Rispoli; Balogh
Roma (probable): Szczesny; Rudiger, Fazio, Juan Jesus; Peres, Paredes, Strootman, Emerson; Nainggolan, Salah; Dzeko
Suspended: Manolas
