Roma will enter the Coppa Italia’s Round of 16 when they host Serie B outfit Spezia on Wednesday afternoon at the Stadio Olimpico.
After scraping through to the corresponding round of the Champions League last week, the Giallorossi will look be looking for a much-needed victory to keep themselves alive across all three competitions.
Spezia have endured a mixed season in the Serie B and are currently lying in 11th position on 24 points.
The Aquilotti suffered through six weeks without a win up until the December 1 but have since found some form and they are unbeaten in their last four matches.
Following wins over Salernitana, Vicenza and Latina, Spezia will need to lift to a whole new level to compete against the Serie A giants.
The Romans are still looking to find some confidence as they look to play themselves out of their current form slump.
With their last victory registered back on November 8 in the Derby della Capitale, the fixture provides a great opportunity to return to the winner’s circle.
Rudi Garcia will take many positives from Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Napoli, particularly his team’s defensive effort, an area which has been lacking this season.
The 51-year-old is likely to promote a number of fringe players to the starting line-up in an effort to rotate his squad.
Thus the likes of William Vainqueur, Norbert Gyomber, Vasilis Torosidis and Juan Iturbe will be hoping for a starting opportunity.
Meanwhile Spezia will be expected to put their strongest foot forward in the hope of causing a major upset in this season’s Coppa Italia.
Form Guide: Roma (L-L-D-D-D) Spezia (L-W-D-W-W)
Roma: De Sanctis, Torosidis, Gyomber, Rudiger, Digne, De Rossi, Vainqueur, Pjanic, Iturbe, Dzeko, Falque.
Spezia: Chichizola, Terzi, Migliore, Martic, Sergio Postigo, Misic, Acampora, Ciurra, Nene, Calaio, Situm.
