Juventus test for struggling Roma

WITH THE coach under pressure, the players struggling, and the squad wracked by injuries, Roma have the added displeasure of next travelling to face undefeated league leaders Juventus.

This season, Roma have had their worst start since 2011-12, and it could get worse tomorrow.

“We have so much pressure on us that the wait for the next match has been really hard,” said Roma captain Daniel De Rossi, who has been out since the end of October with a knee injury. “We have a lot of pressure on our shoulders. We’re in a delicate period because we know we have to do better than we have been doing.”

Roma sold the backbone of their squad in the off season, sending goalkeeper Alisson to Liverpool, midfielder Radja Nainggolan to Inter Milan, and defensive midfielder Kevin Strootman to Marseille.

And although Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco earned a reprieve last weekend by ending a five-match winless streak with a 3-2 win over Genoa, the team had trailed twice in that match. A hefty loss in Turin could mean the end for Di Francesco.

“We are all under observation, including the coach, and we know it,” the 35-year-old De Rossi said. “We want to have a great match, more for ourselves than for the importance of the game. Against the strongest of them all.”

Roma are seventh in the Serie A standings, 22 points behind Juventus.

The Giallorossi haven’t finished out of the top three since 2013. They are already eight points behind third-place Inter Milan but only three below AC Milan and the final Champions League qualifying berth.

Roma have been let down by their defence this season but also by a struggling attack.

The team had the second-best defensive record last season, conceding 28 goals over 38 matches. They have already let in 22 in 16 games this season.