This weekend, what should be the most important match of the season is a damp squib. Juventus know that if they win, the league title is complete and history will be made. The fact they might do it at the home of the one side who has pestered but never bettered them, Roma, makes it even sweeter. Having carried out a Michael Corleone-level move in the summer, wiping out Roma and Napoli by buying their key players, Juventus have set out to dominating Serie A again this year.
With a single win enough to send them home as champions once again, a match against a Roma side in a flux seems a good place to start. With a Champions League Final against Real Madrid to conquer, and an Italian Cup, too, Juventus are in fine form. Roma are in dispute about whether or not captain, leader and legend Francesco Totti is going to retire, rumour is abound of top players leaving again in the summer, and even the recruitment of Monchi could not raise spirits around the club.
For Juventus, there could be few better times to come and visit Roma. The main thorn in their side, comically, could be the soon-to-be retired Francesco Totti. In his last straight as a Roma player, Totti is likely to be dying for one last chance to shut up Juventus and remind them of the quality he’s always carried in both feet and his brain.
Having not came on for his final derby, it would be criminal of Luciano Spalletti to leave him out of the side once again. The Spalletti second era has been quite poor, and the poisonous manner of the season and how it all fell apart means that he’s not really playing with much positivity at this moment in time.
A loss here could see some fans begin to turn on him, too. Napoli are not a million miles behind and could still catch Roma if they falter enough. Given that Juventus are imperious and have made a habit of swatting sides better than Roma away, it would be hard to see anything than a result that secures the Scudetto title for Juventus.
A 4-1 win at San Siro was a huge result for Roma last weekend, but we cannot see them living up to the hype this weekend. Too many off-the-field issues are distracting Roma, and it could be enough to see Juventus leave Rome unscathed yet again.
