Roma aim to extend their winning run to four games and thus further close the gap behind the top 3 rivals, and they will fancy their chances against one of the worst travelers in the elite division. However, Cesena have just recorded a very important victory over Novara and the good result could give them a needed boost to provide an upset at Olimpico.

Roma finally playing to their potential

In spite of heavy summer recruitment and the arrival of coach Luis Enrique from Barcelona, Roma experienced big problems at the start to the season as they just could not find any consistency. As the season began to unfold, the Giallorossi started to improve, and we can finally say that Roma have hit the ground running, seeing that they won four straight games in all competitions, scoring ten and conceding just one goal in the process. Roma’s weekend game against Catania was abandoned because of the flooded pitch when the result was 1:1 and is set to be played at a later date, meaning that the Giallorossi now have an excellent opportunity to continue the winning run against Cesena. The great run of results helped the players restore the lost confidence and it is now evident that the players are high on spirits, so everything suggests their impressive scoring run is set to continue. However, their shaky defence could struggle to contain players like Mutu and Eder.

Daniele De Rossi remains sidelined with a groin injury, whereas Fabio Borini, Aleandro Rosi and David Pizarro could all return to the side. Marco Cassetti, Nicolas Burdisso and Pablo Osvaldo are long-term casualties.

Very important victory for Cesena

Just like their Roma counterparts, Cesena chiefs did well to reinforce the squad with several quality players in the summer, but Cavallucci Marini just couldn’t hit the ground running under Marco Giampaolo. The team showed a considerable improvement when Daniele Arrigoni took over the reigns, with weekend’s victory over fellow strugglers Novara proving that Cesena are indeed ready to leave the relegation zone. Cavallucci Marini may not have been too impressive on the travels this season, but they managed to score one goal in every one of their last four away games, which is no small feet considering they faced teams like Palermo, Atalanta, Udinese and Napoli during that period. With Adrian Mutu finally rediscovering his scoring touch and Roma’s defence incredibly mistake-prone, I can definitely see Cesena scoring at least one goal at Olimpico.

New signing Daniel Pudil is likely to start on the bench, but Danijel Djokovic, Chris Malonga and Raphael Martinho are out.

Verdict

Roma are flying high after the run of four straight victories and another home win looks on the cards. However, while the Giallorossi are likely to score a couple of goals, they cannot be trusted to keep a clean sheet, especially as Cesena managed to score in every one of their last four away games. Therefore, both teams to score looks like the best option here.

Our prediction: Both teams to score

Odds: 2.20 (6/5)

Bookmaker: Ladbrokes