AS Roma are off to a turbulent start by their lofty standards this season. They are 12th in the Serie A table with only three wins, four draws, and five losses, so they are in dire need of a huge shot in the arm.
The Giallorossi are hoping to get that from Claudio Ranieri, who came out of retirement to coach his old club, replacing Ivan Juric at the helm.
Elsewhere, Juventus rid themselves of Paul Pogba amid his doping saga last Friday, saving themselves some money. However, the Old Lady’s backline has been compromised by the injury bug anew.
Napoli’s star striker is listed as doubtful to play in their next match since he suffered a knock while on international duty.
Learn the latest Serie A 2024 news by continuing to read below.
Can Ranieri salvage AS Roma’s floundering campaign?
Recording 13 points in their first 12 league fixtures is the lowest AS Roma’s had at this juncture since 2004-05, which caused them to fire Ivan Juric, their second coach sacking of the season already.
After going winless in their first four Serie A matches, AS Roma replaced Daniele De Rossi with Ivan Juric, and the latter made a rousing start in his debut, a 3-0 result over Udinese in September.
However, after a 2-1 win over Venezia, things have gone downhill for AS Roma, as they’ve only won one Serie A match since, and Juric was sacked after they lost 3-2 against Bologna.
The Croatian boss’ short tenure was so bad that he leaves Rome with the lowest points-per-game average of an AS Roma boss for 20 years.
Dan Friedkin and co. may not publicly admit it, but hiring and firing Ivan Juric in a four-week span highlights a lack of a viable sporting strategy on their end, especially after they invested big in summer transfers.
Now with Claudio Ranieri, an ex-Roma player and manager, the hope is that he’ll be able to steady the ship this season before transitioning into a senior executive role, where he’ll be a special advisor to the team.
Ranieri wanted to retire for good after guiding Cagliari out of the relegation zone last season, but now he faces a difficult debut against Napoli in less than a week from now.
Napoli suffer injury blow in the final third
Napoli are still on top of the pile, making it look like Antonio Conte is a match made in heaven for them.
However, according to the SBOTOP Serie A 2024 odds, Napoli’s margin for error is small since Atalanta, Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Lazio, and Juventus are within arm’s reach, and they haven’t won in their last two matches (D1, L1).
The Partenopei couldn’t get it going against Atalanta and Inter Milan in the final third, and they’re hit with a fresh injury blow since their top striker, Romelu Lukaku, is listed as doubtful for the AS Roma match.
Lukaku was reportedly injured while playing for Belgium during this international break. After starting in Belgium’s 1-0 loss against Italy, the 31-year-old was absent in their 1-0 loss against Israel yesterday.
According to Belgium head coach Domenico Tedesco, Lukaku has a problem with his knee and needs an injection to treat it.
If Romelu Lukaku sits the AS Roma match out, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Scott McTominay will shoulder the heavy loatesting positive for DHEAd on offence for Napoli.
Kvaratskhelia is the team’s leading scorer this season with five goals, while McTominay already has two league goals in his debut campaign in Italy and is already becoming a fan favorite at the Diego Maradona Stadium.
Juventus break free from Pogba amid injury crisis
Paul Pogba is set to become a free agent, as Juventus terminated his contract by mutual consent on Friday.
The 31-year-old midfielder hasn’t played since September 2023 after testing positive for DHEA, a banned substance that raises testosterone levels. Pogba’s original four-year suspension was reduced to 18 months.
Pogba is determined to restart his career after the ban, with his preferred destination in Europe’s top five leagues, but no team has expressed interest in acquiring him as of now.
Letting go of Pogba shouldn’t affect Juventus’ midfield, but they’ll need reinforcements at the back since one of their key centre-backs is feared to be out of the season. Antonio Conte is a match made in heaven for them
Juan Cabal, who has made nine appearances for the Old Lady this season, will undergo surgery after sustaining a torn ACL in his left knee, making him the second centre-back after Gleison Bremer to have suffered the same injury.
As of this writing, Juventus’ available centre-backs are Pierre Kalulu and Federico Gatti.
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