Serie A: Jose’s Back and Roma are Ready!

AS Roma vs Fiorentina

Serie A returns to the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday afternoon when Roma, under new boss Jose Mourinho, welcome Fiorentina for their season curtain-raiser.

La Viola arrive with a new boss too in Vincenzo Italiano and he’ll be keen to prove he can live among the big boys. Jose has splashed the cash to strengthen Roma’s chances of a return to the top four places and he’ll be expecting a dominant display in this opener, but Fiorentina will bring their new striker and hope to wreck the host’s opening day party.

Talking Points

Tammy flies in to Rome

Mourinho has always had the knack of attracting big name players to join him and he wasted no time in Rome, refreshing his squad with vigour. He’s just splashed out a cool £40m Euros on Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham who he worked with during his second spell as boss of the Blues. The 23 year old England international was Chelsea’s joint top scorer last season, but the arrival of Romelu Lukaku at Stamford Bridge has limited his chances and he was happy to fly to Rome, saying: “You can see when a club really wants you. It’s a massive honour to be the number nine at this club and I just can’t wait to get started and to help the team.”

Alongside Abraham, defender Matias Vina has joined from Palmeiros in a £13m deal and the signing of Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio from Wolves will give Roma’s defence, which features former Manchester United star Chris Smalling, plenty of confidence.

The big departure from Roma saw former Chelsea winger Pedro cross the city to Lazio, the first transfer between the two fierce rivals in 40 years!

Serie A: Lorenzo Pellegrini and Eldor Shomurodov help Roma pick up a 2-1 win over Trabzonspor — AS Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini celebrates scoring their second goal vs Debrecen

Skipper Lorenzo Pellegrini will be a key man again. He’s a talented ball player with a steely temperament, though the 25 year old was sent off in an ill-tempered pre-season ‘friendly’ against Real Betis. He came back with a bang, scoring in Roma’s 2-1 away win against Trabzanspor in the Europa League Conference, while striker Eldor Shomurodov scored a late winner.

The Serie A 2021 betting odds place Roma at sixth in the rankings but they will climb quickly if Mourinho can work his magic and guide them to a fast start.

Have Fiorentina found Chiesa’s replacement?

Head coach Vincenzo Italiano took over in the summer after an impressive spell as boss at Spezia who he took to the Primera Division in his first season, and then kept the minnows there in his second. That was enough to persuade Fiorentina to tempt him to Florence, and he wasted no time in filling a hole left by former star striker Federico Chiesa. Italiano paid 23m Euros to Stuttgart for Argentine striker Nicolas Gonzales as a hopeful replacement for the Azzurri star who had such an impressive Euro 2020.

Viola president Rocco Commisso was not amused by the way I Bianconeri lured Chiesa to Turin, saying: “Clubs like Juve, Barcelona and Inter are indebted through dirty work. How did Juve sign Chiesa? They stole him because they gave him a lot more money.” Hopefully Gonzales can lighten the President’s mood. The 23 year old already has two goals in 11 appearances for Argentina and he’s made a good impression at his new club, scoring in Fiorentina’s 4-0 Coppa Italia win over Serie B side Cosenza.

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Gonzales joins a team with plenty of quality in its ranks; Italy left back Cristiano Biraghi is a class act, while Experienced 34 year old winger, Jose Callejon, and Chilean midfield enforcer, Erick Pulgar, are both men for the big occasion. La Viola will write some early Serie A 2021 news headlines if they cause an upset in Rome, but after finishing 13^th last term it might be a little too much to ask so early in Italiano’s reign.

History

Roma have had the better of the head to heads with 33 wins and 14 draws from the last 54 meetings while Fiorentina have managed 11 victories.

I Giallorossi did the double last season with a 2-0 win at home and then a 1-2 victory in Florence in March, as Amadou Diarawa scored a dramatic late winner. Fiorentina haven’t won any of their last four games against Roma, but they come into the match after a strong pre-season on a five match winning run.

Roma are unbeaten at home in five matches and with fans back in the stadiums this season the Stadio Olimpico could become a fortress again.

Betting Tip

	AS Roma vs Fiorentina	AS Roma Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 2.00
	August 23, 02:45 (GMT+8)

Roma are at SBOTOP odds of 1.74 to pick up a win, while La Viola is at 4.36 and the draw is available at odds of 3.44. The visitors can make a case with a new striker in Gonzales keen to show he can fire them up the table, but I suspect the hosts will have enough all round quality to take all three points.