Italian Serie A: Chievo Verona – AS Roma
Chievo expecting expectation
The flying donkeys are doing extremely well this season and occupy the 10th spot in the league. Chievo have accumulated 19 points from their 13 games and still have a game in hand. In a league where the top 10 teams are fighting for Europe and
the bottom ten fighting for survival, Chievo’s league standing is a great accomplishment.
Ceo have been defeated only four times in the league as the flying donkeys continue to take points off bigger fish. Indeed they defeated reigning champions Inter Milan in their last league outing. The game against Roma will present Sergio Pellissier and
co with yet another opportunity to humble a Serie A great.
Chievo are undefeated in their last three league games and Stefano Pioli’s men secured qualification to fifth round in Coppa Italia with a 3 – 0 victory over Novara and confidence will be high going into this game.
Gilarossi look to recover
Claudio Ranieri’s men have recovered extremely well from their early season sufferings and currently occupy the seventh position in the league. Lupi have 22 points from opening 14 games as Gilarossi look to enter the Serie A top four before the winter break.
Last weekend, Gilarossi battled with US Palermo in Stadio Renzo Barbera but were humbled by the home side. Prior to the game, Roma were a single point above the Rosanero and a victory would have taken them into the top four. However, owing much to the competitive
nature of Serie A, the defeat brought Roma down to seventh position while Rosanero took the sixth spot.
Caludio Ranieri will still be happy with the effort his players have put in the last month. Gilarossi played an extremely hectic schedule and managed to go undefeated in all of their games prior to the defeat.
Gilarossi have a poor away record as Julio Sergio and co have let in a whooping 14 goals in 7 away fixtures. Ranieri will need to address the defensive woes before he can hope for a genuine title challenge.
Team News
Chievo Verona
Luciano and Thereau have long-term injuries and Pioli will have to do without their services. The Flying Donkeys will take to the pitch in a 4-3-1-2 formation. Sergio Pellissier and Moscardelli will lead the lines for Ceo.
AS Roma
Gilarossi are without the services of Simone Perrotta who has been struggling with injuries for much of this term while John-Arne Riise has also suffered a knock. The Lupi will field the troops in an offensive 4-3-1-2 formation with Francesco Totti and Marco
Borriello leading the Gilarossi line.
Key Players
Sergio Pellissier
The Ceo Legend and club favourite has been turning back the years in Verona with some sublime performances. Pellissier has scored against the likes of Napoli, AC Milan and most recently he won Chievo the prized scalp of Inter Milan with a stunning goal.
The forward will be eager to add Gilarossi scalp to his CV.
Francesco Totti
The Gilarossi fan favourite has come under heavy criticism in recent times for some subpar performances and antics off the pitch. Er Pupone often performs best in face of adversity and Gilarossi faithful will be hoping the skipper returns to scoring ways
with an inspired showing. Should the talisman find his groove on the night, Gilarossi will be heavy favourites to earn the three points.
Prediction
Chievo Verona are doing well but Lupi are a true force to reckon with. Lupi will want to bounce back from the Rosanero defeat with a convincing win and put their season back on track. The likes of Totti, De Rossi and Borriello will surely have too much for
a decent Verona based outfit as Roma will register a 2 – 1 victory.
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