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Serie A returns with a fresh set of fixtures as AS Roma take on Atalanta at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.
The visitors come into this tie following an impressive victory over Juventus last time out, while the hosts suffered a shock defeat to Torino.
Roma’s domestic struggles continued last week as they fell to a shock 3-1 loss against an out-of-sorts Torino side.
In a game where Roma finished with 10 men, Borja Maroyal opened the scoring barely four minutes into the game. However, Torino scored three second-half goals to turn the game on its head.
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Paulo Fonseca’s side have now suffered three defeats in their last five Serie A games, managing just one win in that time.
The dip in form has now seen Roma drop to seventh in the league table, four points behind Lazio in the Europa League playoff place.
In stark contrast, Atalanta extended their winning streak to four games with a hard-fought victory over Juventus last week.
Ruslan Malinovskyi’s 87th-minute strike was all that separated the sides as Atalanta grabbed a narrow 1-0 lead.
It was a huge boost in their push for Champions League qualification as they leapfrogged Juventus into third in the league standings.
Atalanta will now aim to build on that impressive performance as they have the potential to move up to second with a win on Thursday.
Roma vs Atalanta Head-To-Head
With 18 wins in their last 38 meetings, Roma come into this tie as the slightly better side. Atalanta have picked up 12 wins while it has ended all square on eight different occasions.
Atalanta are currently on a three-game winning streak versus Roma. Their last encounter ended in a comprehensive 4-1 win for Gian Piero Gasperini’s men.
Roma Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-W-D-L
Atalanta Form Guide (all competitions): L-W-W-W-W
Roma vs Atalanta Team News
Roma
The hosts come into this clash with a lengthy absentee list. Leonardo Spinazzola (hamstring), Stephan El Shaarawy (hamstring), Chris Smalling (knock), Marash Kumbulla (knee) and Nicolo Zaniolo (ACL) are all ruled out.
Amadou Diawara will also sit out this one as he is suspended for picking up a red card last time out.
Injured: Leonardo Spinazzola, Stephan El Shaarawy, Chris Smalling, Marash Kumbulla, Nicolo Zaniolo
Suspended: Amadou Diawara
Atalanta
Atalanta have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Thursday's encounter. However, Hans Hateboer remains out with a foot problem.
Injured: Hans Hateboer
Suspended: None
Roma vs Atalanta Predicted XI
Roma Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Pau Lopez; Ibanez, Bryan Cristante, Gianluca Mancini; Bruno Peres, Amadou Diawara, Jordan Veretout, Rick Karsdorp; Pedro, Lorenzo Pellegrini; Edin Dzeko
Atalanta Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Pierluigi Gollini (GK); Rafael Toloi, Cristian Romero, Berat Djimsiti; Joakim Maehle, Marten de Roon, Remo Freuler, Robin Gosens; Ruslan Malinovskyi; Luis Muriel, Duvan Zapata
Roma vs Atalanta Prediction
Roma and Atalanta are two of the biggest sides in Serie A and we can expect a cracker at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.
We predict a share of the spoils, with both sides grabbing two goals apiece.
Prediction: Roma 2-2 Atalanta
