Roma will be looking to start their 2020-21 Serie A campaign with a victory as they prepare to head to Hellas Verona on the opening weekend of the new season.
Paulo Fonseca's side finished fifth in Italy's top flight last term, while Verona impressively claimed ninth on their return to Serie A, having earned promotion from Serie B in 2018-19.
Match preview
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Avoiding relegation was always going to be Verona's number one priority last season, but Ivan Juric's side ultimately claimed a top-half finish, ending the campaign in ninth spot in the table.
Twelve wins, 13 draws and 13 defeats - that is how Verona performed in Serie A last season and while they were 13 points off the top seven, the campaign has to go down as a huge success.
The Yellow and Blues only actually won one of their final nine league games of 2019-20, though, and ended the season with a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Genoa at the start of August.
Verona have been relatively busy during this summer's transfer window, but they are on the verge of losing impressive young defender Marash Kumbulla, who is closing in on a move to Roma.
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Roma did not finish outside of the top three in Serie A between 2013 and 2018, but a disappointing 2018-19 season saw them claim sixth, managing just 18 wins from their 38 league matches.
Fonseca's team did improve on sixth last term, though, claiming fifth, four points clear of sixth-place AC Milan but eight behind fourth-place Atalanta BC, showing the ground that they need to make up.
Roma will be looking to make an impression in the Europa League this season, but they will also be determined to enjoy a successful Serie A campaign as they look to become a top-four side once again.
I Giallorossi have been busy this summer with Jordan Veretout, Gianluca Mancini, Pedro and Henrikh Mkhitaryan arriving, but the club are expected to sign more new players before the window closes.
Indeed, as mentioned, a deal for Kumbulla is close to completion, while Arkadiusz Milik, who scored 14 times at club level last term, is said to be closing in on a move from Napoli.
Hellas Verona pre-season form: WL
Roma pre-season form: WWD
Team News
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Verona will not be able to call upon Kumbulla as the centre-back nears a move to Roma, but the transfer is not expected to be completed in time for him to feature this weekend.
There will be no Fabio Borini or Sofyan Amrabat for the hosts as the former has been released while the latter has returned to parent club Fiorentina.
Adrien Tameze has arrived from Nice this summer, and the 26-year-old is in line to debut in midfield.
Roma are expected to be without Nicolo Zaniolo for the majority of this season as the 21-year-old has suffered another serious knee injury, with the Italian undergoing surgery earlier this month.
Diego Perotti is also a doubt with a thigh strain, but Fonseca otherwise has a strong squad to choose from, and there are expected to be some new faces on display for the visitors.
Pedro is likely to start in attack following his arrival from Chelsea, while Veretout and Mancini should make their official debuts for the club, having had loan deals turned into permanent moves this summer.
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Faraoni, Gunter, Dimarco; Lazovic, Veloso, Tameze, Zaccagni; Stepinski, Di Carmine, Tupta
Roma possible starting lineup:
Pau Lopez; Mancini, Ibanez, Fazio; Peres, Diawara, Cristante, Spinazzola; Pedro, Dzeko, Pellegrini
We say: Hellas Verona 0-2 Roma
Verona are certainly capable of making it a very difficult contest for Roma, but we expect the visitors to pick up all three points this weekend. Roma have won their last four Serie A matches against Verona, and we are finding it difficult to back against Fonseca's side in this contest.
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