After advancing to the last 16 of the Europa League in midweek, Roma aim to keep the feelgood factor high when they travel to Sardinia to take on Cagliari on Sunday evening.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Cagliari (4-3-1-2): Cragno; Cacciatore, Klavan, Pisacane, Pellegrini; Ionita, Cigarini, Rog; Nainggolan; Joao Pedro, Simeone.
Unavailable: Ceppitelli, Farago, Pavoletti.
Suspended: Nandez.
Roma (4-2-3-1): Pau Lopez; Bruno Peres, Fazio, Smalling, Kolarov; Cristante, Veretout; Under, Mkhitaryan, Kluivert; Dzeko.
Unavailable: Pellegrini, Diawara, Zappacosta, Mirante, Pastore, Zaniolo.
KEY STATISTICS
– Cagliari’s last win against Roma in Serie A was back in 2012/13 (4-2), when Radja Nainggolan scored the opening goal in the third minute.
– Cagliari have lost four of their last six home Serie A matches against Roma (D2), after going unbeaten in 11 consecutive matches in Sardinia against the Giallorossi between 1997 and 2012.
– Cagliari have gone 10 Serie A games without a victory in Serie A for the first time since April 2015 (a run of 11) – the Sardinians could also fail to score in three consecutive league matches for the first time since February 2019.
– After winning 4-0 v Lecce in their most recent match, Roma could keep consecutive clean sheets in Serie A for the first time since May 2019 – they’re also looking to win back-to-back league games for the first time in 2020.
– The last time Roma lost three consecutive Serie A matches on the road was back in 2012/13 under Zdenek Zeman, while they’ve lost each of their most recent two.
– Only SPAL (88) have recorded fewer shots on target than Cagliari (90) in the current Serie A campaign; however, the Sardinians have the third-best shot conversion rate (12.9%), behind only Lazio and Atalanta.
– Roma (one) and Cagliari (two) have conceded the fewest goals from outside the box in the current Serie A campaign; indeed, only Real Madrid (zero) have conceded fewer across the top five European leagues this season.
– Roma’s games in Serie A this season have seen the fewest goals in the last 15 minutes of play (eight – five for and three against) – on the other hand, Cagliari have seen 21 goals scored in the same period of their games, fewer only than Lecce (22).
– Cagliari midfielder Radja Nainggolan played 155 matches for Roma in Serie A, scoring 28 goals. After scoring four goals with his first 29 shots in the competition this season, the Belgian has netted only one with his last 29 shots.
– Roma’s Edin Dzeko is currently on 99 away goals in the top five European leagues – the striker has averaged a goal every 177 minutes in Serie A this season, compared to one every 227 minutes by the end of February last season.
