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Serie A Preview: Roma – Torino

A depleted Toro outfit will need to attain at least a point on their travels, to give themselves any chance of avoiding the drop this season.

May 29, 2009 11:25:10 AM

Much of Roma's hopes of a respectable finish in Serie A rest on the shoulders of captain Francesco Totti (Grazia Neri)

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Much of Roma's hopes of a respectable finish in Serie A rest on the shoulders of captain Francesco Totti (Grazia Neri)

Teams

Roma
Torino

Kick-Off: Sunday 31 May, 15:00 CET. Stadio Olimpico, Rome.

Mission Complete

Roma assured themselves of a place in next season’s Europa League last weekend, whey they stunned Milan 3-2 at the San Siro stadium, to deny Paolo Maldini the fitting farewell from his home fans that he deserved.

The result means that the Giallorossi are now four points clear of the seventh placed Palermo, and with just one match remaining, it is now mathematically impossible for the Sicilians to overhaul the deficit.

Despite already achieving their final objective of the campaign, the capital club will certainly be keen to end it off on a high, to take some much needed form and confidence with them into next season, which will get underway in a few months time.

Luciano Spalletti will once again be without a large number of key players for the visit of Torino, however that shouldn’t worry the coach too much, as he will be aware of the fact that his opponents have also been decimated by injury and suspension.

It may very well prove to be the former Udinese man’s last ever game in charge of the Lupi, in which case he will be keen to end with another three points.

Depleted Toro Must Win

Torino have managed to obtain some key results over the past few weeks, notably wins over Siena and Napoli, as well as a draw with their relegation-threatened rivals Bologna.

Despite these results though, Toro are in 18th place heading into the final round of Serie A, with 31 points to their name. They are level on points with Bologna, however due to a poor head to head record with the 17th placed side, avoiding the drop doesn’t look a likely task for them.

In order to maintain their topflight status, the Granata will have to achieve a better result than the Rossoblu this weekend. This means that even if Toro do manage to defeat Roma, a victory for Bologna over Catania would still relegate the proud club.

With this in mind, Giancarlo Camolese’s men simply must win this match, as they will give themselves the best chance of achieving a miracle on the last day of the season.

Their record away from the Stadio Olimpico this term is the worst in the league by far, as they have managed just one win and six draws from 18 matches, whilst they have only scored 14 times along the way. To make matters even tougher for them though, they will be without an incredible amount of key players, following last weekend’s fracas with Genoa.

Torino will be confident with the fact that they did match it with Roma earlier in the season, despite going down 1-0 on the day, as a result of a last minute stunner by Julio Baptista. Similar determination and passion needs to be shown this time around, if they want to give themselves any hope of avoiding relegation.

FORM GUIDE

Roma

May 24 v Milan (A)                       WON 3-2

May 16 v Catania (H)                    WON 4-3

May 10 v Cagliari (A)                    DREW 2-2

May 3 v Chievo (H)                        DREW 0-0

April 25 v Fiorentina (A)               LOST 1-4

Torino

May 24 v Genoa (H)                         LOST 2-3

May 17 v Napoli (A)                        WON 2-1

May 10 v Bologna (H)                     DREW 1-1

May 2 v Fiorentina (A)                 LOST 0-1

April 26 v Siena (A)                          WON 1-0

TEAM NEWS

Roma:

As has been the case for many weeks now, the Giallorossi will be decimated by injury for this particular match, as Juan has rejoined his fellow Brazilians in Cicinho, Doni and Julio Baptista on the sidelines. Alberto Aquilani is also out once again, as he continues his three month rehabilitation program.

In better news for the club, Daniele De Rossi returns from the suspension that kept him out of last weekend’s crucial 3-2 triumph over Milan, to add some depth to the midfield.

Possible Starting XI – (4-2-3-1): Artur; Motta, Panucci, Mexes, Riise; De Rossi, Pizarro; Taddei, Perrotta, Vucinic; Totti.

Torino:

Toro find themselves in all sorts of trouble in the lead up to this contest, as they are without an incredible amount of key players. To begin with, seven players have been banned following last weekend’s disastrous match against Genoa, in which players from both sides were involved in a post-match brawl. Angelo Ogbonna and Marco Pisano have both been hit that hardest, as they have received four match bans for their involvement, whilst Rolando Bianchi, Aimo Diana and Cesare Pratali have been given two game suspensions. Blerim Dzemaili and Ignazio Abate have also been banned for one match, however for reasons not related to the fight.

In addition to this, Camolese will also have to make do without five further casualties, all of whom have been out injured for quite some time now. Elvis Abbruscato, Eugenio Corini, Marco Di Loreto, Nicola Ventola and Paolo Zanetti are these players, meaning that the coaching staff may be forced to field some inexperienced reserves in this match.

Possible Starting XI – (3-4-2-1): Sereni, Franceschini, Natali, Rivalta; Rubin, Barone, Vailatti, Saumel; Gasbarroni, Rosina; Stellone.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Roma – Francesco Totti: The Roman talisman has had a fairly commendable season, despite the injuries he has had to deal with throughout. He was the man responsible for securing his side’s passage to Europe six days ago, and he will be keen to end the season off on a perfect note, with a strong performance against a depleted opponent this weekend.

Torino – Alessandro Rosina: The captain of the Granata has been criticised and pressured throughout the course of the season, signifying that he could be on his way out in the upcoming transfer period. With this in mind, the number 10 will be keen to end life as a Toro player on a high, so expect him to be at his best in this encounter.

PREDICTION

Despite the fact that Roma have nothing to play for, Torino are without so many first team players, making it almost impossible to see them avoiding the drop. The likelihood of them winning two matches on the trot away from home is also highly unlikely, so for these reasons the Giallorossi will certainly end the season in the best possible fashion.

Roma 4-1 Torino

Adrian Del Monte, Goal.com

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