Catania v Roma: Match Discussion

With the loss to Napoli still smarting, we face another arduous away task as the team will travel to Sicily to take on a Catania side that have proven very tough to beat on their own patch in recent years. With the last game played between us and the Elefanti ending in 2-2 in the home opener back in September, we very much need to win on Sunday to stay within touch of the Champions League spots.

Squad News

In poor form and looking likely to leave this January, Maarten Stekelenburg has well and truly fallen from grace as Zeman has made it very clear to the Dutchman that on-loan Danubio shot-stopper Mauro Goicoechea is now the preferred #1. With that in mind, don't be surprised to see the Uruguayan get the nod at the Massimino.

Rodrigo Taddei trained with the squad today so he appears to be match fit once more, but will remain 2nd choice to Ivan Piris, who has been improving his game vastly of late. Alessio Romagnoli did not train with the squad and underwent physiotherapy and a gym work out, signalling he may not be 100%. More worryingly is that Leandro Castan is also not completely fit as the Brazilian has suffered swelling to the 5th metatarsal in one of this feet. If he can shake that off, we should be able to see him link up with young Marquinhos, who has served his 1-match ban and will be available once again. Balzaretti will again take up position on the left ahead of Dodo.

Miralem Pjanic has been banned for this match following his dismissal against Napoli so this will give probably Panagiotis Tachtisids a chance to get back into the squad where he could link up with Michael Bradley and Daniele De Rossi in midfield. The loss of Pjanic could equally mean a starting berth for youngster Alessandro Florenzi as well however. Marquinho, who is expected to leave for Gremio in the coming weeks, will be available as will Simone Perrotta.

Up top, Dani Osvaldo appears set to return to the starting XI following tests that reveal no further ligament damage in his right knee. This will relegate Mattia Destro back to the bench along with Nico Lopez, who is also expected to leave this month. Francesco Totti and Erik Lamela round out the attack trident.



The Opposition: Calcio Catania



Currently sitting a respectable 10th in the table and sporting a home record of 6 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws, Rolando Maran's side have been quietly efficient this season with the good results under their belt in the first half, but they have also been prone to some bizarre results as well. Their last outing was a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Lazio in the Coppa Italia, a loss which came at the Massimino.

The Coach: Rolando Maran



Largely considering this is his first real stint at the helm of a Serie A side, Maran is doing quite well after be chosen to replace current Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella. The Trento-born former defender has continued the same defensive solidarity that Montella instilled in his former charges, which is largely the reason why they have only conceded 9 goals at home this season.

The Danger Man: Gonzalo Bergessio



Leading scorer for Catania this season with 6 goals. The 28-year old has been a fixture up front for Catania since his arrival from Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne. Bergessio has since become well known for his predatory instincts in and around the box and his ability to battle well with defenders to get in behind them on goal. Along with Alejandro Gomez and Francesco Lodi, he will represent a dangerous threat going forward.

Musings, Facts & Prediction

Despite our inconsistency, we remain the most dangerous attacking side in the league with 43 goals scored with a whopping 33 goals conceded on the flip side of that coin. More interestingly is that we currently sit 4th in Away points gathered, with only Napoli, Inter and Juventus ahead of us in that regard. Of the 43 goals we've scored this season, 20 have come on the road so that should bode well for this match. Catania, however, have scored 17 times at home as well to go with the 9 goals conceded, proving them to be a particularly tough opponent in this fixture, but still quite beatable if we play to our strengths.

I think the biggest thing about this match is that we need to take the chances given to us and take them often. For all of Destro's great play, he remained the main culprit against Napoli because he simply couldn't finish in that game. It was very telling that a half-fit Osvaldo came on and scored with practically his first chance. We need that type of focus and calmness out of the youngster if he's going to surpass what he did with Siena last seasn. Against a stingy defense and a plucky attack like Catania's we need to make as many chances count as possible if we're to come away with a much needed 3 points to stay with the leading pack. A loss simply won't do this weekend.

3-1 Roma.

oh great, another away fixture. But I think that our defense will be much better now, because our suprise of the season Marquinhos returns.

but I think we need more patience at times, but also more direct passing. throughballs, from ground and long too. I remeber when DDR played some good balls over the top..
Little worried about creativity, because neither Bradley, Florenzi or DDR are really creative.. more box-to-box types. So if Totti is marked out of the game.. were in trouble.
Expect Lamela to score and Totti to assist.

Agree on the creativity portion, but that's where I think Zeman may use Tachtsidis over one of Bradley, DDR or Florenzi. Behind Pjanic, he's our most creative midfielder and with his large frame, he would be able to play from the middle and hold his own there.

lack of creativity in mid might force full backs to come higher up and thats basically zeman play and that's risky

Btw , nico lopez scored in Uruguay u20 Vs Peru u20

Squad update: Perrotta withdrew from the first training session today with pain in his right calf.

http://www.football-italia.net/29351/osvaldo-out-catania-clash

osvaldo might also miss even marquinhos

Projected line up for Catania: Andujar; Spolli, Legrottaglie, Marchese; Bellusci, Almiron, Lodi, Izco; Barrientos, Bergessio, Gomez.

Lots of quality in that side honestly...Izco, Lodi and Almiron have been very good this season.

a tough game for Roma , hoping for a better defensive performance than last game because Catania is all about counter attack

Osvaldo is officially out of the match. He didn't make the team sheet.

Destro to start up front most likely.

ROMA (4-3-3): Goicoechea; Piris, Burdisso, Castan, Balzaretti; Florenzi, Tachtsidis, Bradley; Lamela, Destro, Totti


umm.. 4-1 to Catania.. no Marquinhos or DDR... Zemans gone mad again

Roma should have been 3 up by now , i wonder who can break the dead lock

I wish we had a top class striker who would finish all these chances off.. oh dear

Oh great.. bye bye CL..

i really feel bad for zeman

I believe those team usually get into CL that play with what i call CL level , in some occasion duo to luck or another reason weaker teams getting Cl but they normally concede more than their fare-share , even though getting into CL helps financially but i rather get ready in serie A and make a strong come back . So CL is the least of my worries as far as Roma

This year Udinese didnt deserve CL and they failed fast.

"make a strong come back"

Well, we have trying to make that since Ranier left..

Nothing to figure really. Having a young team has, apart from the obvious positive things, also the negative ones. Not being able to maintain your level of performance after a couple of incidences not going your way is usually one of them. You have to pick your poison

Also the player with highest earning has to sit on bench instead of taking responsibility and guide the team through tough times , we lack a leader type of player in our midfield , individuals are trying hard but most of them are young and inexperience until we haven't solve the issue Cl wont help much

So its management fault that they only buy very young players?
Today we looked unmotivated in the second half.

Epoto wrote:Nothing to figure really. Having a young team has, apart from the obvious positive things, also the negative ones. Not being able to maintain your level of performance after a couple of incidences not going your way is usually one of them. You have to pick your poison

Also the player with highest earning has to sit on bench instead of taking responsibility and guide the team through tough times , we lack a leader type of player in our midfield , individuals are trying hard but most of them are young and inexperience until we haven't solve the issue Cl wont help much

its a gamble we had to take and that has advantages and disadvantages