After their exertions in Europe last week, AS Roma will turn their attention to their top-four quest in the Italian Serie A when they travel to Bergamo to face Atalanta on Monday.
Atalanta come into this tie on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw with Fiorentina, which left them trailing in the battle for the top four places.
La Dea were among the seven teams expected to battle for the top four this season, but after a brilliant start, they lost their trail. They are currently sitting seven points behind fourth-placed AS Roma ahead of this round, having won just three times in their last ten league games (D2, L5).
That poor form has been down to a porous defence that has managed just two clean sheets in the last ten games, making them the side with the second-worst defence among the current top-seven teams.
But if they keep a clean sheet here, it will mark consecutive head-to-head top-flight shutouts for the first time since January 1965, having won the reverse fixture 1-0.
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Meanwhile, AS Roma will travel to Bergamo in a good mood after securing a semi-final place in the Europa League thanks to a 4-2 aggregate win over Feyenoord on Thursday.
That win was their fourth win in their last five games and saw them score 3+ goals in a game for the third time in their last five competitive matches.
Having dropped to the fourth position because of the 15-point added back to Juventus, Jose Mourinho’s side now have a more difficult top-four fight at hand, with Inter Milan and AC Milan hovering beneath.
Meanwhile, although they can play in the UEFA Champions League next season by winning the Europa League, Mourinho is not thinking about that, as he asked his side after their midweek win to “forget about the Europa League” and prepare for this match.
They will go into this tie looking to build on a run of three straight league wins. Each of those and all nine of their Serie A victories in 2023 have come with a clean sheet, adding an aura of defensive invincibility to Roma.
Given how tight Roma has been at the back, we can expect a tight game with few goals scored.
An under 2.5 goals bet will be the most likely outcome of the game.
