Roma is a true enigma this season. In the period of the last few weeks, they managed to get defeated to Livorno at home, while they scored the goals in added time against Fulham and Catania and reached win and a draw respectively, but also showed they can equally deal with the best clubs in Serie A such as Fiorentina and Inter. Roma definitely has got to start playing constantly good if they want to fulfill their goal they’ve set before the season started. Their current, 13th position, is unsatisfactory but they’re just 6 points behind that desired place that would take them to CL. The return of Francesco Totti to the pitch will drastically help their squad, as he already scored 6 goals in the 7 matches he played this season. Ranieri will have almost all players available and only Juan and Daniele De Rossi are out and won’t be able to play at this match.
Above the expectations
Before the season begun, many predicted Bari would quickly return to Serie B. However, the Italian giants like Roma, Lazio and Udinese are in problems, but coach Giampiero Ventura’s team is calmly resting in the mid-table area, mostly thanks to their really tough defense. Their centre-back duo, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Ranocchia, have deserved all the praises for their previous performances, and Ranocchia even managed to become a candidate for the national team as Marcello Lippi has been constantly monitoring his plays. Edgar Alvarez will have a lot of motives against his former club, while the experience of Sergio Almiron, Massimo Donati and Vitali Kutuzov can never be underestimated. Bari managed to record great results in the previous part of the championship, with two best ones came at the visits to Inter and Milan. The question being asked now is, can they keep up with the good performances they’ve shown at the start of the season?
It`s always easier when the captain is there
Although Bari has started the season out impressively, Roma is an absolute favorite to win all 3 points at this match. The return of the captain will significantly improve their chances to get that, and tough Bari’s defense will this time be much more tempted than it’s been a case previously as Roma is a very efficient side. Beside a home win, the over 2.5 is also worth trying here.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 2.75
Odd: 2.09
Bookie: Bet365
Stake: 6 /10
Tipster: Kather
