Roma will take on Cagliari in their second home match of the 2014/2015 Serie A season at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday at 15.00 local time. And given that the hosts finished last season with a record setting 85 points, well over twice the visitors’ haul of 39, all points clearly indicate to a match that appears to be highly skewed in favor of one side.
Five. That represents how many points separate Roma from Cagliari after two matches. It also is the number of goals they scored as they cruised to a 5-1 win over Russian outfit CSKA Moscow in Wednesday’s evening Champions League group stage clash–a record for the capital club.
In their last five meetings, the Rossoblu have not been able to defeat the Giallorossi since a 4-2 success in February 2012, and given their sparkling form since Rudi Garcia took over, one would not probably bet against Francesco Totti and his squad continuing their perfect start to the season.
However, their win over their Russian opponents came at a cost, with goalscorer on the night Juan Iturbe now out with a muscular problem, and the new signing now joins Davide Astori–who now has a knee issue after the same game–as well as long-term absentees Kevin Strootman and Federico Balzaretti. Meanwhile, Leandro Castan is also struggling with muscular issues of his own and could find it difficult to even make the bench.
As for the Sardinian club, they are under the stewardship of Zdenek Zeman, who will be keen on inflicting a wound against the side that he had coached during the 2012-2013 season before his sacking last summer. So far, Cagliari have stuttered, being held to a draw with Sassuolo in round one before suffering a reversal versus Atalanta and hence will be desperate to get things up and running, something that naturally will be easier said than done.
In terms of injuries, the only absence of note for the Rossoblu will be Swedish international Sebastian Eriksson, with the midfielder out until at least December with a cruciate ligament rupture. More significant, given the obvious strength of their opponents, Zeman will have to contend with fielding his strongest line-up as they seek to cause an upset in the Italian capital this Sunday.
Expected Starting XIs
Roma – De Sanctis; Maicon, Manolas, Yanga-Mbiwa, Cole; Nainggolan, De Rossi, Pjanic; Florenzi, Totti, Gervinho
Cagliari – Colombi; Avelar, Ceppitelli, Rossettini, Pisano; Ekdal, Conti, Cristeig, Cossu; Ibarbo, Sau
