Frank Lorenzo
Roma (-333) vs. Parma (+900) (Draw +450)
The last four weeks haven’t been terribly positive for AS Roma. They have taken only seven of the last 15 points available and are now seven back of Juventus in the race for the Scudetto. The team did manage to beat Cagliari (2-1) last weekend, though, and will look to make it two straight on Sunday when they host Parma in the 23rd fixture of the Calcio (9:00 a.m. Eastern at Olympic Stadium in Rome).
In the moneyline, the Giallorossi are the heavy favorites, sitting at -333. A Parma upset will pay +900 and the draw +450.
Roma dominate the historical head-to-head with Parma, collecting 30 wins, ten draws, and only nine losses. Roma have also beaten Parma in seven of their last ten. The last win for the Gialloblu came back in 2012 (3-2).
After last week’s victory over Cagliari, Roma coach Rudi Garcia was satisfied with his team’s effort, especially in the face of its recent adversity.
“We never lost our humility, though some of the things I say might seem to suggest otherwise. We proved that today – we played as a team, and every single player gave their all when the team was going through a tough spell. We showed our quality,” said Garcia.
Reinforcements are arriving this weekend for Roma as Gervinho and Seydou Doumbia are back from the African Cup of Nations, and others return from injury.
Garcia now has a problem of choice, which must seem like a luxury after having his hand forced over the past several weeks. “[W]e’ll have more options … the young players have shown they can step up when needed, and that’s great news for their development”, said the manager.
Roma are currently on 46 points (13-7-2), good enough for second in the table.
On the other side, Parma’s football club mirrors its politics and financial circumstances: utter disarray. Parma are dead-last in Serie A with just nine points and a league-worst -27 goal difference. They have lost five straight heading into Sunday’s game.
Bet AS Roma.
(Photo credit: Ver en vivo En Directo (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/]. Photo has been cropped.)
