Second-placed Roma aim to return to winning ways following the Coppa Italia exit, but in-form Sampdoria could prove to be a tough nut to crack.

The Giallorossi have been thoroughly impressive this season, but their excellent performances won’t matter much unless they can enjoy a strong finish to the campaign.

Roma failed in their attempt to qualify for the Coppa Italia final despite winning the first semi-final leg against Napoli, with the 3-0 defeat at Stadio San Paolo ending their title dream.

Rudi Garcia’s side are, however, still in a very good position to clinch Champions League qualification seeing as how they currently sit seven points ahead of fourth-placed Fiorentina with a game in hand.

And having won last seven fixtures at Stadio Olimpico, Roma are rightly considered 1.36 (4/11) favourites to see off Sampdoria.

Francesco Totti is likely to miss out with a buttock injury, but Daniele De Rossi should be fit to play after shaking off a minor knock.

Miralem Pjanic and Douglas Maicon have resumed full training, whilst Federico Balzaretti and Dodo remain on the sidelines.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): De Sanctis – Maicon, Benatia, Castan, Torosidis – Pjanic, De Rossi, Strootman – Florenzi, Destro, Gervinho.

Sampdoria experienced all sorts of problems in the opening exchanges and even slipped in the danger zone, but everything changed with the arrival of Sinisa Mihajlovic.

The former Fiorentina boss helped the players restore the lost confidence and as a result, the performances improved in no time.

And excellent run of results saw Sampdoria climb to 12th in the overall standings, creating an 11-point advantage over the bottom three, with the team doing really well at the moment.

After sharing spoils at home with Bologna, the Bluecerchiati enjoyed a narrow win in Derby della Lanterna against bitter rivals Genoa before defeating Cagliari at home.

They now face a very difficult task against high-flying Roma, and are priced at 3.40 (12/5) to avoid defeat at Stadio Olimpico.

Maxi Lopez and Matias Rodriguez miss out through injury, whereas important defender Andrea Costa is doubtful with a knee problem.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Da Costa – Silvestri, Gastaldello, Mustafi, Regini – Palombo, Krsticic – Soriano, Gabbiadini, Wszolek – Eder.