Champions League-chasing Roma will be looking to return to winning ways when they travel to Stadio Brianteo to face high-flying Monza in Serie A on Wednesday night.

While the hosts are looking to secure their fourth successive top-flight victory, the visitors are seeking to avoid a third straight game without a win.

Match preview

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After claiming back-to-back wins over Inter Milan and Fiorentina, Monza extended their winning streak to three matches after securing a 2-0 victory away against Spezia last Friday.

Goals either side of half time from Patrick Ciurria and Carlos Augusto helped the Biancorossi secure a routine win in Liguria and Raffaele Palladino's men remain 10th in the table, an impressive feat for a side experiencing their first-ever top-flight campaign.

Monza have already guaranteed their Serie A survival and their sole aim heading into the final six games of the season will be to at least consolidate their top-half finish or potentially climb into the top eight.

The Biancorossi can take plenty of positives from their recent performances, although their form on home soil has been inconsistent for some time, winning two, drawing four and losing two of their last eight games at Stadio Brianteo since the turn of the year.

Monza will be hoping to significantly improve on their only previous meeting with Roma after losing 3-0 in the Italian capital back in August despite boasting 61% possession.

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Roma, meanwhile, enter Wednesday's contest after dropping points in their last two Serie A matches, with a 3-1 loss at Atalanta BC followed by a 1-1 home draw with AC Milan last weekend.

Tammy Abraham thought that he had netted a dramatic 94th-minute winner for the hosts, but Alexis Saelemaekers went up the other end three minutes later to score an equaliser at the death to rescue a point for Milan.

Jose Mourinho's men missed the opportunity to climb into the Champions League positions and they now sit sixth in the Serie A standings, level on points with fourth-placed Inter and fifth-placed Milan, while Juventus are just three points further ahead in third.

Roma are sure to have one eye on their Europa League semi-final clash with Bayer Leverkusen later this month but they must first turn their attention to tricky top-flight encounters with Monza and Inter, and their upcoming trip to Stadio Brianteo could prove challenging considering their recent away form.

Indeed, the Giallorossi have lost six of their last nine away matches in all competitions, with their only victory during this run being a narrow 1-0 success at Torino in early April.

Team News

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Monza will assess the fitness of Marco D'Alessandro before kickoff, but otherwise, Palladino has a fully-fit squad at his disposal.

Palladino is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to his starting lineup given their recent run of form, with wing-backs Ciurria and Augusto to provide width down the flanks, while Andrea Colpani and Gianluca Caprari offer support in attack for either Andrea Petagna or Dany Mota.

As for Roma, Marash Kumbulla (ACL) and Andrea Belotti (cracked ribs) sustained injuries in the draw with Milan and will join Chris Smalling, Georginio Wijnaldum, Diego Llorente and Rick Karsdorp in the treatment room, while Nemanja Matic is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

The absence of Kumballa, Smalling and Llorente could force Mourinho to select midfielder Edoardo Bove at centre-back alongside Gianluca Mancini and Ibanez.

Paulo Dybala scored a brace in the 3-0 win over Monza earlier this season and he is likely to replace Belotti in the first XI, joining fellow in-demand striker Abraham up front.

Monza possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Mari, Caldirola, Izzo; Ciurria, Rovella, Pessina, Augusto; Colpani, Caprari; Petagna

Roma possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Mancini, Ibanez, Bove; Celik, Cristante, Camara, Spinazzola; Pellegrini; Dybala, Abraham

We say: Monza 1-1 Roma

Roma came out on top with a three-goal victory the last time that these two sides met, but a tighter affair could be in store on Wednesday considering that Monza have come on leaps and bounds in recent weeks.

There is more pressure riding on the visitors to claim maximum points as they endeavour to climb into the top four, but we believe that the hosts will do enough to secure a hard-fought point.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Oliver Thomas

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